


Soulmates

by T_N_C (MadnessandWomen)



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: AU, Angst, Descent into Madness, Emotional Turmoil, Enticed Aaravos, Humans are oppressed, Illusions, Isolation, M/M, Self Harm, Some death, Wanted to try and get this out of my system before season 3 hits, a bit of family angst, a few references to torture and/or a scene or two, a few war scenes, anyway hope you enjoy, character regression, in the form of insults and other types of verbal abuse, pining aaravos, some violence, will update tags as I go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-11-20
Packaged: 2019-12-06 19:47:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 47,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18224645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadnessandWomen/pseuds/T_N_C
Summary: Viren.Aaravos's first vision had been of him. Glimpses of him had inspired some of Aaravos's most wondrous  endeavors, had encouraged him in times of need.And now the threads of fate had brought the man to him. He stood before the mirror and glared at Aaravos with hard, untrusting eyes. Aaravos met his glower with a knowing smirk; he knew that despite his facade, despite years of bitterness hardening his heart, Viren had retained the same curious, determined spirit he'd always possessed. He wouldn't recoil from the darkness...and he wouldn't shy away from joining Aaravos in it.All Aaravos had do was to earn his trust.His heart would follow soon after.





	1. Life in a Series of Vignettes Part 1

His first vision had been of a human.

He had been thirteen; one evening he was pouring over one of his mother’s old volumes when, in the deepest part of himself, a whisper called to him, told him to look up and in—to See. Who was he to refuse? He obeyed.

 

_A young human boy with a lean face and curious gray eyes was standing in a field; he was not alone. Another boy, one with cheerful green eyes, stood by his side, watching with interest as, primal stone in hand, the gray-eyed boy drew a rune for a wind spell and sent a gust spiraling toward an unsuspecting flock of birds. The birds were thrown into the air, spiraling around and squawking comically—the boy’s companion laughed so hard he fell to the ground; the young mage grinned at him. “_

_You’re too easy to amuse, Harrow.”_

 

The vision had been brief, but the impression had lingered—had piqued Aaravos’ interest. Who was this human? Why was Aaravos Seeing him? What was his significance?

He spoke to his mother about it, but she just smiled and told him not to fret so much, especially over a measly human. She told him that the human boy was probably just a future servant; someone of no real importance. Aaravos was unconvinced. He decided to start journal recording his visions as well as to put more effort in learning the magic of the star arcanum—divination in particular—in the hopes of finding answers on his own.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

He was twenty nine when he was officially dubbed a master of the Star arcanum; he had had many visions by then; they ranged from mundane things—like when a colleague would come over for a house-visit; to awe-inspiring—such as predictions of (and therefore preparations for) future tragedies and disasters. In the back of his mind however, was the human. Since that first vision, Aaravos had not Seen him clearly—had only been granted vague glimpses of him; small glimpses of his life. But that was before he became a master. Now he knew the art of divination backwards and forwards and he felt it was time to answer some of his questions. He looked inside himself Saw the human again.

 

_He carried a staff of elven make and was standing in front of another human—Harrow, if memory served correctly; apparently, Harrow had recently been crowned king and was in the process of posing for his historical portrait._

_“Alright ready?” The human asked cheerily, “Put on your best history face.”_

_Harrow smiled at him._

_“Why don’t you join me Viren?” He asked, expression warm_

_“But, this is your official portrait as king.” the other opposed, surprised by the offer._

_"Yes,” Harrow replied, “and you should stand next to me as I know you would stand by me through anything.”_

_The human—Viren—smiled warmly; he walked over and took his place at Harrow’s side._

 

Aaravos contemplated the vision. It had revealed a great deal—the human’s name in particular had been much desired information. “Viren.” Aaravos repeated the name to himself. It was a fine name. It certainly suited the mage. And now that Aaravos knew it the divination process would be simpler. There were still questions to be answered though and Aaravos was more than eager to find them out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Word had gotten around of Aaravos’ powers of foresight and prediction and he became greatly sought after by the most powerful and distinguished. He found himself quickly rising up the ranks of prestige until he had achieved a position in the court of the Dragon King himself. It was during this time that he decided to visit an old friend.

 

_Viren was older now, but the curiosity in his eyes had remained with him; he was alone this time—in a laboratory of some kind. He stood in front of a bowl filled with soil; in his hand he held the de-taloned claw of a Sun Phoenix; he crushed it in his palm and spoke:_

_“worg ti ekam”_

_His eyes glowed purple then receded to black. Dark smoke drained from his palm and into the pot; it seeped into the soil and turned it auburn. After a few moments a sprout broke through; it grew until it was eye-to-eye with the mage; tiny, lilac-colored flowers began to bloom from it._

_He smiled. He took the plant and left the room._

 

Aaravos was intrigued; he had always been taught that humans couldn’t perform magic; that since they weren’t connected to a primal source they could only ever use magic when aided by a primal stone; yet here was a human performing magic using only a bird’s claw—magic Aaravos had never seen the likes of before. It made Aaravos wonder just how much he had been taught about the arcanums was true. It made him wonder how much he had been taught about _humans_ was true. After some contemplation; Aaravos decided to visit the Dragon King’s library and read about the arcanums.

He wanted to test a theory.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

His theory had been correct; the laws of magic weren’t as rigid as had previously been taught. Though a difficult path to travel, it was completely possible for someone to learn primal magic from sources outside of in-born connections. Anyone with enough patience and determination could do it; Aaravos himself was the proof.

The Dragon King had been impressed with his findings and had suggested that they start an institution for those interested in learning more about the nature of magic and of the arcanums. He had said that this new-found knowledge had the potential to lead the world into a new age of discovery and that it should be shared with all.

Aaravos found the idea thrilling; there was nothing he longed for more than to spread his teachings—to dragons, elves, and _humans_ alike.

But when he proposed that humans be included, the Dragon King rebuffed him. The excuse being that humanity was too weak; that their lack of connection to primal sources inhibited them from ever being able to learn. It was kinder to leave them as they were—the followers to the superior leadership of the dragons and elves. 

Aaravos disagreed. He argued that if he could learn magic outside of his arcanum that humans had the potential to do so as well; that they at least deserved a chance to try. The Dragon King was unmoved. He refused to listen and Aaravos was dismissed feeling dejected and frustrated.

But Aaravos was nothing if not determined; if he would not be allowed to teach humans with the support and help of his king then he would do it alone.

In private, he began to teach a select group of intrigued humans the nature of magic; one girl in particular demonstrated a great deal of promise—her name was Elarion and she was an orphan of cruel beginnings. Aaravos had come across her by chance. She had been lying in the winter snow, hurt, abandoned, and left to die. Aaravos had taken her in and hefound her to be sharp of mind and hard working; she had a hunger for knowledge that rivaled even his own. She made him proud.

And after nearly a year of raising and teaching her, he decided it was time to show her a very special spell.

 

“Take the claw and hold it like so.”

He held his hand palm up. Elarion mimicked he position; she looked up at him with curious, questioning eyes.

“What next?” she asked. 

Aaravos smiled; he continued:

“Crush it in your palm. As you do so say the following: ‘Worg ti ekam.’”

Elarion gave him a quizzical glance; she looked down at the claw in her hand. Taking a breath she crushed it and repeated the incantation:

“…Worg ti ekam?”

Elarion’s eyes turned purple, then black; dark smoke poured from her hand. With a yelp of surprise, she dropped the claw to the ground. The earth before them turned aurburn from the contact. A sprout broke out from the soil.

Elarion stared in wonder. As the plant grew bigger, so did her eyes. They were as round as saucers by the time the lilac buds had bloomed.

“How?” she asked, spellbound, “How did you learn to do that?”

Aaravos smiled

“…An old friend showed me.”

 

Aaravos envisioned Viren again that night.

 

_He was lying in a bed with two children nestled close to him; one was a blond-hair boy with a missing tooth and the other was a raven-haired girl; he held a book in his hands and read aloud:_

_“The valiant warrior held her blood-stained sword high above her head.‘The man-eating beast is dead!’ she cried, ‘Your kingdom is safe!’”_

_“The people rejoiced at her triumph; great feasts and pageants were held in her honor. Her name and heroic deed went down in history. To this day whenever someone sees the glint of the sun on a blade they say—“_

_“Ofelia’s light can never fade.” the boy finished._

_“That’s right Soren.” Viren said, closing the book, “Now it’s time for bed you two.”_

_“NO!” Soren yelled._

_“Not yet!” his sister cried._

_“Soren, Claudia, it’s late.” Viren sighed, “None of us will feel well if we don’t get some rest—“_

_Soren shimmied up under the crook of Viren’s arm; he grabbed his shirt and he clung desperately; Claudia threw her arms around his neck and hid her face in his shoulder. They both wailed._

_“Alright, alright.” Viren said, “Let’s take a moment.”_

_The children snuggled up to him, sniffling softly. Viren put the book aside and wrapped his arms around them. He began to hum a lullaby._

_By the time he finished the third melody the children were both fast asleep. Gently, Viren laid them against the bed; he pulled the bed covers over them and kissed them both on the forehead._

_“…Goodnight.” he murmured._

 

The vision left him feeling both fond and melancholic. While it was good to see Viren again and Aaravos was glad to see that he was content with his life…he had hoped that they would have properly met by now. After all, everything that Aaravos had accomplished thus far had been in no small part due to his visions of Viren. It felt wrong not to able to at least thank him for the role he’d played in Aaravos’ various successes. Fate couldn’t be rushed he supposed…but sometimes the waiting felt so torturously long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, I haven't written fanfic in years, this pairing really is something magical. Anyhoo, hope you've enjoyed so far. I don't know when I'll be able to continue but I'll try my best to have regular updates.


	2. A brief interlude and a bit of heartache

…Viren would kill the Dragon King.

At first Aaravos had thought it was just a fluke in his vision—an unlikely occurrence that had wormed its way into the line of more possible outcomes. But the more he looked into the vision—tried to See the likely paths of the future—the more the scenario came up.

 

_The Dragon King stood atop a mountain; his elven guards formed a protective barrier before him. He gave a deafening roar.  The human army stretched to the horizon and Harrow was at the forefront with Viren at his side  They both looked determined. Harrow turned to his army and raised a sword in the air:_

_“For Katolis!” he bellowed._

_The humans lifted their arms and roared in unison._

_The Dragon King flew into the skies; his great wings blotted out the sun and he roared a command. A command to fight._

_The Dragon King and the elves charged.  Harrow, Viren, and the human soldiers charged. The two groups collided with a force that could crush mountains._

_There was blood and death. Screams of pain; begging for mercy. The sound of someone’s last breath._

 

_And amongst all the carnage was Viren._

 

_With unbelievable magic he brought down elf after elf; he crushed bones and ripped out hearts. A trail of blood and bone and death lay at his wake. His eyes were aglow with magic and malice and they were turned up to the skies._

_The Dragon King circled above, watching the battle unfold. With his great jaws he rained down lightening and death upon the humans; hundreds upon hundreds fell to him. He caught sight of Viren._

_Dragon and mage shared a look—one of disgust and unbridled hatred._

_The Dragon King roared; he rocketed toward Viren with unnatural speed. Viren glared at him; he took his staff and placed in before him—he began muttering an incantation. There was a bright greenish light, the sound of terrified screams, and—_

_And the Dragon King fell mid-flight; he crashed to the ground with the force of an earthquake. There was a stillness._

_Though the smoke and debris, Viren emerged…his face was gray and riddled with black veins; his eyes were completely black except for the white pin-points of his pupils._

 

_He was a demon._

 

Aaravos was horrified; the thought of Viren—the human who had inspired him throughout his life—would do something so horrible as kill his king disturbed him to his core. He found himself wondering if he had missed something in his visions; he just didn’t understand how someone who had seemed so noble and compassionate could do something so horrendous.

Aaravos began to throw himself more into his work and teachings. He tried to ignore the feelings of hurt and betrayal he had. He ceased his visions of Viren. He didn’t want to See him anymore.

 

He didn’t think he’d want to See him ever again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait y’all; life’s been kicking my ass something fierce. Hope you like what I’ve managed to post though 😅


	3. Life in a Series of Vignettes Part 2

Aaravos continued to teach humans of course. Viren might have turned out to be a horrible person but not all humans were and it was unfair to blame them all for the actions of one—especially one that he had never even officially met.

He preferred teaching humans, in fact. Unlike the dragons and his fellow elves, humans were more open to change and exploration. They had insatiable curiosity and an unyielding drive to learn and that pleased Aaravos as their teacher.  He began making more time for lessons with his human students and spent more time amongst them. He got to know them and grew fond of them as individuals.

His increased time spent with them led to some uncomfortable realizations, however; he began to notice the disparity of how they were treated by society compared to the dragons and his fellow elves.

Every one of his students had a tale to tell of the mistreatment they had faced. The acts ranged from patronizing micro-aggressions to full out violence, and Aaravos was always left feeling sick whenever he heard of them. He wanted to help, of course, but he was unsure as to how; he had tried again and again to appeal to the Dragon King and the other members of the council but he was always ignored. They wouldn’t listen to reason and motivation through violence was out of the question…

…Or at least it was until he was made a witness to an act of unspeakable violence and injustice against one of his students.

He had been on his way to the class when he caught sight of three moonshadow elves gathered around someone. He didn’t recognize who it was at first, but as he got closer he saw it was one of his students, a woman named Selene. The elves were screaming obscenities at her and Selene—-hard-headed woman as she was—-was standing her ground, yelling right back at them. 

Aaravos scowled and quickened his pace; the closer he came the more he was able to understand what was being said. 

“Tell us how you learned _human_.” one ghastly-looking elf growled through gritted teeth, “tell us who taught you and you _may_ be spared.”

“Contrary to what your bloated ego may tell you, we _humans_ don’t have to answer to your beck and call.” Selene snapped; she folded her arms across her chest and gave him a pointed look, “It’s none of your business and I’m not telling you _anything._ ” 

The elf practically roared in rage; he grabbed Selene and threw her to the ground; one of his companions drew a long-sword and pointed it at her throat.

“TELL US HOW YOU LEARNED YOU WRETCHED EXCUSE OF A—-“

With a quick _aspiro_ spell, Aaravos sent the elves flying; they landed rather ungracefully a few feet away. Aaravos was quick to place himself between them and Selene.

“…What do you all think your doing to my student?” he asked, tone low and dangerous.

The trio began picking themselves up off the ground. The grisly one shook his head to center himself; he glared up at Aaravos hatefully.

“And just who do you think _you_ are?!” he snapped, “This is none of your business you—“

He stopped mid-sentence; his eyes widened in recognition.

“ _Aaravos_?!” he squeaked, “ _You_ taught her?!”

“I’m _teaching_ her.” Aaravos growled, “She’s very adept when it comes to learning about the arcanums…would you like to see how well she does with sunfire magic? I assure you her incineration spells are positively _to die for_.”

The grim-faced elf narrowed his eyes at him; his companions began to back away.

“What you’re doing is an abomination! The Dragon King will hear about this!” the other elf shouted, “He’ll have your head on a spike!”

“What makes you think he doesn’t already know?” Aaravos countered, “And who are _you_ to bother him with such frivolous matters as who _I_ teach?”

Aaravos drew himself up to his full height; he looked down his nose at the other.

"If you or your companions value your freedom— _or your lives_ —you would do well as to leave here.” He eyes flashed with magic; a warning, “Don’t. Come. Back.”

Two of the elves were already running away, but the ghastly-looking one continued to glare at Aaravos. After a moment, he huffed and followed after his companions.

When they disappeared from sight, Aaravos turned his attention to Selene. He helped her up from the ground and assessed the damage that had been done to her. She had no broken bones, but she was badly bruised and blood seeped from her nose and mouth. She looked angry, horrified, and resigned all at the same time. 

“…Do you want to skip the lesson today?” he asked gently, “I can accompany you home if you wish.”

Selene wiped the blood from her face with the back of her hand; she shook her head.

“I’m not skimping on you.” She said, “Wouldn’t want to give those bastards the satisfaction.”

She feigned a smile; she reached out and pat his shoulder comfortingly.

“…This kind of thing happens all the time.” She reassured him, “Don’t you worry about it, son.”

“I can’t help being concerned.” Aaravos replied; he muttered a healing spell to clear up the rest of the damage, then he added, “I’m also older than you by several centuries, Selene.”

Selene laughed and Aaravos found himself smiling despite the his previous consternation. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“Let’s get to the class.” He said, “We wouldn’t want to be late.”

Selene nodded. As they made their way, she sought to reassure him further, but Aaravos was far from comforted. The sight of her being hurt so had left an impression on him; the thought that this had not been the first time and that it wasn’t an uncommon experience amongst humans disgusted him further. He couldn’t let this go. 

 

He _wouldn’t_ let this go.

 

As they walked together, he began thinking.

He had tried the “right way” to persuade his King and the council to allow humans equal opportunities and he’d had been consistently dismissed.

 

…Perhaps it was a time for more drastic measures.

 

By the time they reached the rest of the class, he had reached a decision. If the King and council wouldn’t listen reason, then they could be motivated by fear.

…And that meant he would need to prepare his students for what was to come. He would need to make them _strong._

Aaravos took his place at his presentation desk and waited until Selene had joined the rest of the crowd before addressing the group.

“…Today’s lesson is going to be a bit different.” he said calmly, “We’re going to go over some more…unique spells.”

He  gestured for his students to gather closer. 

“We already know what a Sun Phoenix claw can do.” He said, rummaging through the desk drawers, “Let’s try experimenting with other ingredients.”

When he found what he was looking for he pulled it out for all to see; it was a knife. There was murmuring from his students; he ignored it and pressed on. He took a bowl from another drawer and placed atop the desk; raising his hand over the bowl, he sliced his palm and let his blood pool into it. 

“I want you each to experiment with this.” He stated.

He muttered an incantation and waved his other hand over the bowl—it fell in upon itself and spread out into a series of small cups; he gave one to each student.

“Try creating incantations.” he said as the last cup was given out, “Mix it with other items. Nothing is off limits in the quest of knowledge. Let’s find out what my blood can be used for.”

He gazed over the group; they were apprehensive and confused—as Aaravos knew they would be—but none of them expressed any notion of not going through with the lesson; they trusted him. 

Aaravos smiled to himself; he settled himself back behind the desk.

“Let’s begin.” he said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Aaravos began to focus most of his lessons on this new magic—this ‘dark’ magic as Elarion had called it—“because of the way everybody’s eyes turn black and pretty!” she had reasoned; they experimented with bones and flesh and blood and scales and feathers of magical animals—and of magical _people_. His blood was only a small introduction; soon they were scrounging through graves and morgues, taking what they needed from the deceased.

His students were reluctant at first, of course—some even abandoned the course—but for those who stayed, their power increased ten-fold. They became formidable mages; with the combined strength of the magic of arcanums and of the darkness they were unstoppable. 

As they trained, so did Aaravos. Though his training was for a...different intent.

He would spend his nights experimenting with one magical ingredient or another. He would try burning the items, cutting them into pieces, and reciting incantations, and when he was satisfied with a result he would unleash the spell on a target.

He terrorized a clan of moonshadow elves first.

The shadows he sent them were ferocious things, clawing the earth and snapping their jaws like great beasts. When the moonshadow elves reported to the King, the fear in their eyes still shown bright.

But it wasn’t enough. The King and the council didn’t take it seriously enough. He needed to do more.

His second target was a dragoness. He struck her down with a smothering fog of darkness. She fell gravely ill and was comatose for three weeks. The fearful murmurs of the court lasted three months.

Aaravos spoke to the Dragon King, then; he expressed his ‘concerns’ and suggested that since the attacks were obviously the work of a magic user—either an elf or a dragon— then perhaps they should turn their attention to less conventional means of solving the problem. Like say, requesting the aid of the human citizens. He argued that whoever was responsible wouldn’t see humans as a threat and that with the right training they could easily find and over-power the perpetrator; all that would be required would be a few—just a few— lessons on magic and the arcanums so they’d be able to recognize the type of elf or dragon responsible.

But the King didn’t listen— _of course he didn’t_ —he still thought that humans were weak, insignificant, and useless.

 

_The fool._

 

Aaravos would have to try harder; would have invoke true fear into the council and this pompous king.

Fortunately he knew just the thing; he wouldn’t enjoy it, but it was necessary for the future of his students and all of humanity. If terror wasn’t enough and plague wasn’t enough, then perhaps _death_ would be.

His victim was a member of the council itself, a Sunfire elf named Jayla; he sent a horde of dark serpents to her—she was found dead in her manor, the residue of poisonous magic still stuck to her flesh. Her death shook the very foundations of the court.

It was then that he took his chance.

He scheduled a meeting with the King and the council and brought Selene and two of his other students with him. He prepared them, taught them the expected etiquette of the court—what to say, how to stand, when to bow. He also made it clear they were not to use any magic in front of the court—-that they would save what they had learned for when he acquired the King’s blessing to teach them.

 

“We must play the long game.” he had cautioned, “Pretend that you know nothing about magic or the arcanums. When the time is right we will show them what you can do.”

“Don’t speak so soon.” Selene had warned, “What if the Dragon King refuses you still? What if they never accept that we can perform magic? What then, Aaravos?”

She sighed; she looked weary. Aaravos placed a hand on her shoulder.

"If they refuse to listen we will _make_ them listen.” he assured her, giving her shoulder a squeeze, “now come, it’s time for our appointment.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

…Even now.

 

_Even. Now._

 

Aaravos stormed out of the council chamber. Selene and his other two students had to scramble after him. Servants and guards stepped aside in their wake murmuring to each other —guesses of what had transpired at the gathering no doubt. Aaravos wanted to snarl at them; wanted to slash words like knives and cut the arrogant, condemning looks from their faces. Instead he grit his teeth and continued down his path. He threw open the doors to the courtyard and stomped out into the afternoon air. His students were right behind him. Selene reached out a hand.

“Aaravos, it’s all ri—”

“No it’s not!” He snapped, “None of this is _all right_ , Selene.”

Selene flinched at his tone. His other students shuffled uncomfortably.

“…I’m sorry,” Aaravos murmured, “You didn’t deserve that…I just…”

Aaravos sighed; he put his head in his hands.

“…No one said it would be easy.” Selene murmured, “But we can't give up. We’ll _make_ them listen remember?”

Aaravos sighed again; he pulled his face out from his hands and looked at her. She smiled gently and held out a hand to him.

“Ready to try again?”

Aaravos looked at her for a moment; he gave her a small smile and took her hand.

“Always.”

 

...Oh, there wouldn’t be anymore _trying_.

Aaravos was tired of trying; tired of being ignored; tired of watching his daughter and his students suffer; tired of _elves_ and _dragons_.

Smug, condescending, weak-willed animals, all of them. They deserved to suffer. Deserved to be ripped from the illusion of grandeur they had crafted around themselves and face the realities his students lived with. Be made to see the truth.

And oh how he wanted to be the one to do it—drag them all down into the depths, point to his humans and say:

 

 _“Do you understand now? Do you see? This is the truth!_ **_Look at what you have done_** _!”_

 

Aaravos had just the idea on how to accomplish this goal. He had already Seen it. All he needed to do was prepare.

He began to train his students in more combative spells; He recruited more interested humans into his class.

He also began commissioning smith-workers across Xadia to create weapons for them; swords and staffs of great power—for research he excused when pressed.

And, of course, a weapon of his own was required, one of great strength and dexterity. Only one image came to mind...

 

Viren’s staff.

 

Aaravos had been thinking about Viren a great deal lately, and the more he thought about him the more disgusted he was in his past condemnations of him.

He knew how humanity was treated; he had seen it with his own eyes. He had seen them terrorized, maimed, and murdered by dragons and elves, while the King and the council did nothing; they stayed happily unburdened in their little glass bauble of ignorance.

Who wouldn’t be frustrated with such indifference? Who wouldn’t want to take matters into their own hands? Wasn’t that what Aaravos himself had been doing these past years? The Dragon King had proven himself to be a fool; a stagnant, pompous tyrant. He and the other dragons and elves refused to adapt to their changing world—let them be left behind, then; let them die with their outdated thinking.

That was the bitter truth of things—that those who refused to adapt bled for their folly one way or another. Viren had understood that and now so did Aaravos.

Aaravos had murdered Jayla to raise humanity up; Viren would murder the Dragon King for the same reason. They were the _same_.

And one day they would meet; together, they would show all elven and dragon-kind what it meant to be on the receiving end of their oh-so-benevolent rule; they would bring humanity to greatness. 

Aaravos had Seen it. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

First they conquered a few Sunfire cities; there wasn't much of a fight of course--his students were far too advanced for the simple sun spells of those elves. There were no causalities on either side--unfortunate, really, he had hoped to harvest some ingredients to experiment with for future teachings. Afterwards, they journeyed south to Earthblood territory; the Earthblood towns were bit harder--one of his students even got a scratch!--but they were nonetheless won over. The rewards of their labor was far more fruitful as well, with Aaravos having managed to collect quite a few pieces from wounded or slaughtered elves.

None of this went without notice from the council and King, of course. By the time Aaravos and his students had reached Moonshadow lands, there was a sizable army hunting them. His students began to doubt him, then; it was understandable, but nonetheless distracting--this wasn't the time for naive idealism and petty morals; there was work to be done. Fortunately, Aaravos was nothing if not persuasive. When they questioned him he would say that victory was close; that he had Seen it; that they had to have faith in him, he knew what was best.

"I'd never lie to you." He would soothe, "Just trust me."

 

And they did.

 

Their path spread far and wide. They left death and darkness in their wake. The dark blood of dragons stained the earth; bodies of elves decorated the land--warnings for the foolhardy King and his council. It was a glorious time.

His powers of divination proved most useful. Every night, after his students had retired and he had sent Elarion to bed, Aaravos would find a quiet place to meditate; He would put his fingers together, close his eyes, and look in and See. The outcomes of battles would unfold before him; he knew where the King would send his forces next, when a city would be most vulnerable, and so on.

After acquiring the information he needed, he would always end the session with the vision of Viren and the future they would share.

 

_It was a beautiful thing. He would have new students that he would teach the combined power of the primal sources and of the dark to; dragon and elven kind would face subjugation they deserved--finally be made to pay for the centuries worth of crimes they had committed against humanity; there were no longer any kings or queens, those who valued knowledge now held the power--mages and scholars, the hungry of mind; all of Xadia was covered in a rich, sublime darkness. An eternal night overflowing with stars, moonlight, mystery, and promise--one that time could not ravish._

_And Viren_ _would be by his side, in that dark form that Aaravos had grown to love. They would teach together, lead together--_

 

_...Love each other._

 

 It was a future that Aaravos wanted desperately. One that he would do anything to acquire.

 

Absolutely _anything_.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

...There was no other choice.

 

He had checked his visions again and again and the result was always the same. If they continued fighting they would fail; humanity would be pushed back into the subservient role they had held for centuries and nothing would change.

 

But...

 

...But if humans were to be taken out from under the influence of the Xadian scum--if they were to be _separated_...

 

...There would be a chance for them.

 

The cost would be great; slews of people would die--adults and children alike—but it was the only way; the only path that he could See that would bring them to the desired outcome.

 

...Sometimes you had to make sacrifices for the greater good.

 

One evening he took Selene aside; he told her what he had Seen--some of it at least.

“If we keep going we will fail.” He stated, “We have but one chance”—-he took her hand in his own—“do you trust me?”

"With my life." she replied, "What do you need me to do?"

 Aaravos smiled.

"I want you to lead the others," he said, "take some of our supplies and go to the magic-desolate lands of the west. Without easy access to primal magic the Dragon King's forces will be at a disadvantage...but we will not."

Selene nodded.

"I understand." she said, "But I don't like leaving you here alone. Your visions aren't foolproof, Aaravos. What if we leave and you're found? Or what if Elarion is found? How would--"

"Elarion will be going with you." Aaravos interrupted, "I understand and appreciate your concern, Selene...but if we're going to win this war we must play our cards wisely...it's the long game, remember?"

Selene opened her mouth to argue; Aaravos raised a hand to silence her.

"It's the only way, Selene." He said; slowly, he raised his staff to her; offering, "They'll look to you, now."

Selene stood still for a moment; gingerly, she took the staff from him. Her eyes were sad.

Aaravos placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Everything will be alright." he murmured, "I know it...I've _Seen_ it."

Selene met his gaze.

"...I hope you're right." she whispered, " _Gods_ , I hope you're right."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Aaravos saw them off; he was a touch sad to watch them go, but he had every faith that they would persevere. He had trained them well; they would be alright.

After the party had faded from his sight, Aaravos turned and walked back to the spot of their former encampment; it was empty now, save for the bundles containing his own belongings. Aaravos strode over to them. He had to move quickly; he had precious little time to act, so every move had to be performed carefully.

He took a knife, a vial, and a pair of Earthblood horns from one of the bundles; He took the horns and broke them each in two. 

 

"Dnal eht yortsed."

 

The horns burned in hands; they dissolved into ash and embers and they spread over the encampment like a heavy smoke. The land hissed under the poisonous cloud and turned black and dead.

Step one was complete.

He took up the knife and vial together; he sliced his hand, his abdomen, his chest and watched the blood seep from his skin. He collected a bit into the vial and stored it in his pocket. He walked northward, letting the blood to trail behind him. When he felt he was far enough from the encampment, he allowed the blood to pool around him. When he was satisfied he healed his wounds, careful to still leave the cuts from the blade--if he was going to play the part of a captive he would need to retain some of the look of one.

Thus ended step two. One more thing to do.

He went eastward a ways and came upon a hill. He walked to the top and gazed out over the land...the Dragon King's army should appear at any moment. Quickly, he wound an illusion around himself; his dark, freckled skin turned pale and rough; his white hair turned dark save for a few white streaks. His usual robes disappeared and were replaced with an outfit of feathers and bones. His knife elongated into a likeness of his staff.

He looked every part a human mage. And just in time too.

The Dragon King's army appeared over the horizon. They were far away, but not so far that they couldn't see him. Aaravos smiled. He took the vial from his pocket and opened it; he poured the blood onto the ground and onto his "staff" and recited:

 

"Htap ruoy ni lla etacoffus, ria eht tpursid, yks eht nekrad."

 

With a shout, he slammed his staff to the ground. A tornado spiraled from the mark and spun toward the advancing troops. With cries of terror, the group scattered like mice. Aaravos smirked; quietly, he stepped away from chaos and went back to the encampment. He let the illusion fall away from his body. He put the knife and the empty vial back into his bundles and then burned them. He went back to the little stage he had created. He waited.

It took longer than he thought it would--even for elves. In the meantime, he rehearsed what he would say when he was "rescued"; words of gratitude that slid off his tongue like honey; he ripped some of his clothing and broke his accessories to add to the look; anything that would make the act more convincing.

After an eternity of waiting, Aaravos heard voices. Quickly, he threw himself to the ground, in the pool of his still-damp blood; he listened.

"How is it possible? Humans can't do magic."--"That wasn't magic. That was an abomination."--"It's not just humans; I heard a few Sunfire elves said some elves were involved. Traitors."--"They can die with the humans then! There will be justice!"

Aaravos grinned maliciously; he squeezed his eyes shut and groaned piteously.

"Did you hear that?"--"Look! It's blood!"--"Someone's still here! Find them!"

There was the rustle of leaves. Footsteps coming closer. Aaravos twisted his face into a grimace of pain.

"Someone..." he groaned, "...help me."

A group of elves came through the trees; they consisted of an Earthblood, a Skywing, and a few Moonshadows. They crowded around him. The Skywing knelt down and moved him over onto his back. There was a gasp that rippled through the group when they saw his face.

"By the Gods," one of the Moonshadows said, " _Aaravos_?!"

They moved to help him to his feet. The Earthblood began to heal his wounds. He was bombarded with questions and accusations.

"How did you get here?"--"What happened to you?"--"You're helping the humans?! You traitor!"--

Aaravos weakly held up his hand, silencing them.

"I am not a traitor. I came here to try and negotiate peace with the humans, but I was taken captive."--he fell back a bit, the Earthblood helped steady him; he leaned heavily against her. 

"The humans...they have discovered a new form of magic," he continued, "it uses parts of magical creatures as a power source; it drains all the life and magic from them...and from anything caught in the path."

He pointed into the direction of the encampment.

"...Surely you saw what was left of their camp."

There was murmuring from the group. They were afraid.  _Good_.

"We...need to stop this," Aaravos murmured, "we have to stop the humans before they destroy us all."

"Do you know where they went?" the Skywing asked, "We need to find them and bring them to justice."

"Not just them, all humans." Aaravos said, pulling himself up a little straighter, "It's too dangerous to allow humanity to coexist with us any longer--they all must be dealt with. Quickly."

The elves looked at him, both surprised and intrigued.

"What do you suggest?" Another Moonshadow asked.

Aaravos smiled.

"Take me to the Dragon King." he murmured, "I have much to tell him. Take me to him and I'll put an end to this madness."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Aaravos' return found the court in utter chaos. Word of the unspeakable power his students wielded had made them excitable and suspicious. Vulnerable. It brought him utmost joy. He couldn't wait for the time when their world would completely crumble around them and they would know true pain. For now, however, he continued to play the part of the wounded victim. Ever-so grateful for his rescue, ever-so eager to help in any way he could.

He spoke of the new magic that humans had discovered. He terrified them with tales of how humans used the parts of slain elves for spells, of how they had used his own blood to make a whirlwind powerful enough to scatter an army. He spoke about his fear that they meant to bring down the court.

"Humans have always been jealous of the power we wield." a Moonshadow lord growled, "I say we cut the head off the snake and kill these 'dark magic' practitioners before they spread their abominable teachings."

The rest of the elven council murmured their agreement.

"No." Aaravos stated.

The rest of the council turned to him, surprise written on their faces.

"The knowledge has already spread too far," he stated, "and even if you could find and kill every dark mage, you would only create a cycle--the humans grow restless, they try to find an alternate source of power, they discover dark magic, they bring chaos upon us. I've Seen it." he looked over the council,  "We have one choice. We must rid Xadia of humans before others are subjected to their wrath...No one should be made to suffer like I have suffered."

He paused; he ran his hand over the fading wound on his palm.

"I realize this is strange coming from me." he said, "I have spent years advocating on behalf of humanity; I've given my life to for their betterment. But I see now that our their kind can never coexist peacefully with us; look at what they have done to me...after all I've done for them..."

He twisted his face into a facade of grief and hurt. An Oceandeep priestess stepped toward him.

"Do you need to take a moment?" she asked, "We can have a brief recess if this is too much for you."

Aaravos shook his head. 

"There's no need." he said, smiling weakly, "I'm fine, really."

He turned his attention back to the rest of the council.

"...We must banish them. All of them." he continued, "Send them to the west where there are no magical creatures for them to hunt. They will not be able to perform their odious magic without resources; we will be safe."

He glanced between the individual council members; he wore a facade of grief and weariness.

"Believe me, I know it seems drastic, but it's the only way, my friends." he murmured, "Every future I have Seen where we allow humans to reside in Xadia with us ends in death and tragedy...we must do what is best for our own."

There was a heady silence. Then one of Sunfire ladies spoke.

"We should speak with the king." she said, "Hear his thoughts on the matter."

Aaravos smiled.

"Of course," he said, gently, "I wouldn't want it any other way."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

They spoke with the Dragon King. He listened to Aaravos' suggestion of banishment and he agreed-- _Aaravos knew he would_ \---and with a great roar he decreed that all humans be banished from Xadia.

Aaravos watched as the council eagerly prepared--he smirked to himself. It wouldn't be long now. His humans would be safe from this Xadian filth soon. In the meantime he would continue to play the game. 

 

Humans were rounded up by the hundreds. They screamed and begged for mercy as they were dragged away from their ancestral homes and forced to walk the long way west. It hurt Aaravos' heart to witness their plight, but he knew it would all be worth it in the end. Their present pain would be minuscule to the power he would provide them when they were out from under Xadia's thumb. They would see it too; in time, they would understand that he just wanted what was best for them--it was the dragons and other elves who had caused their suffering

Of course, that didn't make it any easier when they had to bury their twenty-forth human child and their thirtieth elder; it took all the strength Aaravos had not to take their families into his arms and comfort them. Even more so not to strike down every elf in his sight. But he had to remain composed. Play the long game. Soon. Soon they would have justice.

 

When they reached the border between the east and west-lands, the humans were forced to travel on alone. Aaravos stared into the horizon. His  expression remained impassive, but his heart felt like it would shatter. His precious humans. They had suffered so much for so long. It would take decades, centuries even, to bring them to the greatness that had been denied to them.

 

He would have his work cut out for him.

 

When the last human was safely across the border, the other elves turned to him. Aaravos acknowledged them with a nod and prepared himself. His eyes began to glow; he drew a rune in front of him, then swatted it away.

The earth split; it spread across the land from north to south. Lava spilled from the crevice in a thick, bubbling mass. It was done.

As soon as the spell was completed, Aaravos turned and began to walk back the way they had came; the other elves followed suit. They chattered amongst themselves; they joked and laughed. _Disgusting creatures_.

Aaravos toned them out, choosing instead to plan; to plot. He needed to find a way back to Elarion and his students; tell them all he had learned and help them prepare for war.

It would take some time, of course; he'd be preparing for weeks, no doubt, but he had every faith that things would fall in his favor. The hard part was over after all.

 

Things were only opt to improve.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

When Aaravos arrived back at court, the Dragon King ordered that he come to him, that witnesses had come forward with more information about the humans' new magic that he wanted Aaravos to clarify.Aaravos was concerned; who could have come forward? Had Elarion and his students been found? He all but ran to the Dragon King's chambers, hoping that his worst fears had not been realized. 

He burst through the chamber doors; the council and the king were seated at their designated places. Their families and other elf and dragon nobility filled the seats around them. There was not a single human face in sight.

 _Thank the Gods_.

"I came as soon as could, Your Grace." he said, tone as honeyed as he could muster, "You said you have more information on the humans' magic?"

The Dragon King looked at him passively; he tapped a claw at the floor in front of him.

"Come forward Aaravos." He commanded. 

Aaravos frowned slightly; he walked to the spot the Dragon King had gestured to. 

"You said you had more information?" He repeated.

The Dragon King regarded him for a moment; he nodded.

"...Three Moonshadow elves have come forward." the king stated, "They said that two years ago they caught a human woman performing a Moonshadow-like spell. Since we know that humans cannot perform Moonshadow magic it can only be assumed that the woman was practicing the abomination you spoke of. And there's more..."

The king was describing Selene's attack. Aaravos felt his stomach drop; he knew what would come next.

"...The witnesses say that you are the one who taught her."

There was an audible gasp from the crowd; there was murmuring all around him. Aaravos stood motionless, expressionless, careful not to let any emotion be read on his face. There may yet be a chance to salvage this.

"And you believe them?" Aaravos asked, coolly, "How would I have taught her? I teach _primal_ magic; all of my magic requires runes and forming a connection to an arcanum. Dragon scales and elf horns are not in my repertoire of spellwork."

The Dragon King gave him a dark look.

"Yes." the king growled, "Yes, I thought so too...until the the ash of cremated elves was found in your quarters."

The crowd erupted. Accusations of betrayal were screamed at him; demands for his death rang throughout the chamber. Aaravos didn't move; he stared vacantly at the Dragon King. Then his lips twitched into a smirk.

 

Then his smirk became a grin. 

 

Then he began to laugh. Oh how he laughed. He threw his head back and he  _laughed_.

 

He laughed and laughed and laughed; he laughed for what felt like ages.

 

When he was finally able to compose himself, the Dragon King addressed him again.

"If you're finished with your carrying on, I'd like to hear what you have to say for yourself." he snarled, "Well? _Speak_ Aaravos. What excuse do you have for us?"

"None." Aaravos said, eyes twinkling, "And I don't need one. I don't need to justify myself to you _\--any_ of you."

He glared around the chamber--at the despicable elves and dragons surrounding him; he sneered at them.

" _You filthy creatures_." He spat. 

The crowd was incredulous; there were murmurs of disbelief. Aaravos smirked. He whipped his gaze back to the Dragon King and grinned maliciously.

"I really must commend your majesty," he said, tone low and dangerous, " _you're not as idiotic as I had thought!_ "

The Dragon King roared.

"How DARE you speak to me that way!" he bellowed; he gnashed his teeth and glared at Aaravos like he was an insect that needed to be squashed, "You traitor! You have betrayed us all! You turned your back on your own kind, and for what?! Those pitiful, magic-less humans?!"--lightening sparked from the king's mouth; he raked his claws across the floor, "Do you think yourself their hero?! Their _savior_?! Fine! You can share in their suffering! Guards! Take him!"

Elven guards and dragon warriors fell upon him.

"I won't be stopped so easily!" Aaravos shouted, eyes glowing; he prepared a spell and attacked.

 Aaravos brought down elf after elf, dragon after dragon; bodies fell upon each other in heaps. He tore them to pieces, he shattered them like glass, he made them ash and bone. It took the Dragon King himself intervening to stop him.

 "You haven't seen the last of me!" he yelled, squirming underneath the king's claws, "I will return and bring you all to justice. You will know terror the likes of which you have never seen."

He met the king's eyes and glared.

"One of them will kill you!" he said, "My humans; one of them will kill you! He will shoot you down from the sky like you were nothing but a sparrow. His eyes will glow with magic and rage.  _I have Seen it."_

"Enough!" the Dragon King snarled, "I will hear no more from you!"--the king flung him like a doll into the arms of a group of elves--"Dispose of him!"

The elves held him down. They began murmuring incantations. Aaravos screamed.

 

And everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no excuse; I just really love the idea of elf-and-dragon-hating Aaravos.


	4. Trapped

When Aaravos woke he was lying face down on a carpeted floor; he got up and looked around. He was standing in a living room he did not recognize. There were exotic plants hanging from the ceiling, a couch was at the far wall across from him, a writing desk was to his left, and a large, ornate door was to his right.

Aaravos went to the door and twisted the handle; it opened to a hallway adorned with paintings of nighttime, of the various phases of the moon and stars. Aaravos frowned...was this really what the Dragon King considered a _punishment_? Aaravos stepped into the hall and began to walk. He checked every door he came across, but they all led to bedrooms or living rooms or some other living spaces--no where that offered any real insight to where he was.

At the end of the hall, he came upon another large door. He opened it and stepped inside a library. It was well furnished, with rows upon rows of books, an elegant chair and table set, plants and fungi for decoration, and a mirror embellished with--

Aaravos froze. The Dragon King's face was in the mirror. 

"I wondered when you'd find your way here." the dragon king said, grinning at Aaravos' dumbstruck expression, "Took your time getting acquainted with your prison, did you?"

Aaravos scowled.

"This place is _hardly_ a prison." he stated, tone clipped, "I knew you were a fool, but I didn't think you were so idiotic as to let me live and sentence me to what is essentially a manor."

"There are worse things than death, Aaravos." the king said, smugly, "And that is no manor."

The king laughed; he leaned forward until only one great eye filled the mirror.

"You haven't the slightest clue of where you are." he chuckled.

"If the obnoxious moonscape decorations are anything to go by, I'd say I'm somewhere in Moonshadow terrority." Aaravos sneered, "And relatively close to my humans' new domain."

The king laughed again, harder this time.

"You are not." he stated smugly, "You aren't _anywhere_."

"Speaking in  _Riddles_ now, your majesty?" Aaravos snapped, "And they say I'm enigmatic! What game are you--"

"Look out the window." the king interrupted, "Look and see where you are."

Aaravos glared at him for a moment; turning on his heel, he stomped to the window and peered out.

There were rows of neat little houses; the sky was dark and lush and held stars that--

Aaravos blinked.

 

There...were no stars.

 

There was no moon.

 

There was...nothing

 

He spun around and bared his teeth at the Dragon King.

" _Where am I?!_ " he demanded.

The king grinned.

"You aren't anywhere." he repeated, "You are in a place between life and death. You aren't amongst the living; you aren't amongst the dead."

Aaravos stared at him, eyes wide with horrified realization. The king grinned; he leaned forward.

 "You. Are. Nowhere." he said, tone triumphant and malicious.

Aaravos continued to stare; after a moment his expression of horror turned into one of rage. He shot a fireball at the mirror with all the strength he could muster. The Dragon King laughed.

"Don't bother." he said, "You aren't a part of the world anymore. Nothing you do will have any affect."

Aaravos screamed in rage; he shot spell after spell at the mirror; he threw objects at it, pounded at it with his fists; nothing he did made the slightest dent. The mirror remained smooth and pristine.

"Why?" Aaravos panted, hands pressed against the mirror, head hung low, "Why this?"

"Why not this?"  the Dragon King said, scowling, "You brought destruction to Xadia. You betrayed me and all of dragon and elven kind for the humans, for all the good it did them."

The king glared at Aaravos.

"You think you're their benefactor?" he said, "You brought them to ruin. They would have lived comfortably if not for you. You filled their heads with impossible dreams of magic and power. You manipulated them."--Aaravos opened his mouth to protest, but the dragon king continued--"Don't lie to yourself, Aaravos. Everything that has happened to them has been your fault. Better if they never knew you existed."

"The king smiled cruelly.

"And they _won't_."  the Dragon King continued, "Your name will be erased from their history. Every passage on a page, every sonnet, every reference they have will vanish."--Aaravos slowly lifted his head--"The only records left will be ones detailing your deceit. Those who know you will die. Their children will die. Their grandchildren will die."--Aaravos glared up at the king, yellow irises burning from underneath his eyelashes--"Bit by bit you will be lost to them; until the day you are all but forgotten."

The Dragon King came closer; he whispered to Aaravos in a low, dangerous voice.

"In that time, I will terrorize them. I will subdue them. They will _know_ their place."

The king's eye filled the mirror again; it twinkled maliciously.

"Did you See  _that?_ "

The Dragon King began to laugh; he laughed and laughed. Aaravos roared in response. He grabbed the mirror and threw it to the ground. It didn't break. He fell upon it and brought his fists down onto its surface; over and over and over. The king laughed harder--it was long and dark and with the utmost triumph. He laughed until he cried.

"It will be satisfying to see you fall into hopelessness from this," the king chuckled, wiping a tear away with a claw, "watch you slowly go mad in your isolation and despair." 

The king's laughter died away; he looked at Aaravos and grinned.

"My spell is wearing off; I must end this conversation...enjoy your _manor_ , Aaravos." 

The king disappeared and the mirror turned black. Aaravos stared down at it. After a moment he jumped up; he put his fingers together and closed his eyes.

 

_Human mages learning dark and primal magic alike; the subjugation of elf and dragon kind; Viren by his side._

 

Aaravos opened his eyes and let out a sigh of relief. The vision had not weakened, it was as strong as ever. His plans weren't ruined.  _Thank the Gods._

He turned to the mirror on the floor. It now appeared as an ordinary mirror with his own reflection staring back at him. Slowly, he picked it up and put it back in its place by the wall. He stood and watched it. 

 

"You think this is the end?" he said, "That you've won?"

 

Aaravos smirked. 

 

"No, your majesty. This is only the _beginning_."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adding additional tags because yeah, things are about to get pretty dark


	5. The Future looks Bright

At first, Aaravos' only goal was to find a way out of his prison. He did everything he could think of to free himself. He explored every inch of the manor and surrounding lands; he tried creating portals to take him elsewhere; he tried using various spells and enchantments on the mirror. It was all in vain. Walking around the lands was like walking in a circle; he always ended up right back to where he started. Likewise, any portal he opened only lead to another part of his prison. And, of course, the spells he tried on the mirror did nothing--enchantments would fade away, leaving the mirror as cool and impeccable as ever; spells he tried to send to the other side generally disappeared on contact and those that did manage to pass through didn't last--they would float weakly in the air for few spaces then dissipate into nothing.

In his more desperate moments Aaravos even found himself pleading with the Dragon King. Clasping his hands in front of his face, he would fall to his knees before the mirror and beg to be released. He promised anything, said anything--that he had learned his lesson, he was sorry, he'd never go against the king again, just let him out, _just let him out!_ \--but his pleas were only ever met with cruel smiles and smug glances by the king--it made Aaravos hate him even more.

As time passed, he all but gave up on freedom and turned his attention to keeping his sanity against the monotony of his new half-life. He read books from the library; he wrote in journals to sort his thoughts; he meditated and Saw. 

Seeing, especially, kept him grounded. It allowed him to keep track of the process of time as well as his humans and their plight. He Saw humanity in the process or rebuilding; he saw Elarion, Selene, and the rest of his students; Saw them worrying about him, wondering what had happened to him. They still believed in him, thankfully; they did not think he had left them, did not hate him. It offered him some relief; he missed them all so much--to have them hate him and think he had abandoned them would truly break his heart. 

One vision in particular showed him the true extent of the Dragon King's threat; it also gave him a wonderful example of his humans' might and resourcefulness.

 

_Months had passed since the humans' banishment from Xadia. The humans were scattered across the west-lands; they were disoriented and grief-stricken._

_Despite this, Aaravos' students had thrived. They had fought their way through the wilderness; they had continued to train, to grow stronger. They did not allow themselves to fall into despair._

_They were the ones to help humanity begin to rebuild; to remake themselves so that they could adapt to their new lives; they gave refuge and safety to the weak and vulnerable. Humans from all over joined them; hundreds pledged loyalty and service to them._

_Selene was at the forefront of it all. Her leadership_ _had kept them all safe, had kept them strong in the face of adversity. They might not have made it so far if not for her._

_One day Selene was out gathering firewood. The air was cool and crisp and Selene had stopped to rest underneath an old tree. Aaravos' staff by her side and a bundle of wood at her feet, she had laid back against the tree trunk and closed her eyes._

_"Selene!" Elarion cried, running up to her, "Selene, help!"_

_Selene's eyes snapped open; she turned and snatched up Aaravos' staff._

_"Elarion?" she gasped, taking a battle stance, "What's wrong?"_

_Elarion pushed a book into Selene's waist; looked up at her with eyes that glistened with tears._

_"He's gone!" she said, "I just wanted to see the picture of him and it disappeared!"_

_Selene took the book from Elarion; she looked at the page that Elarion had left open._

_There was a passage detailing some of Aaravos' time with his human students; it was accompanied with a drawn image of Aaravos' visage in the corner...then the words began to slip away; the image melted into ink. A blackness spread across the page until it had_ _devoured every trace of Aaravos._

_Selene stared wide-eyed._

_"Fix it!" Elarion cried, "You've got his staff--use it to bring him back!"_

_Selene_ _furrowed her brows together; gently, she laid the book on the ground, pages up; she took out a bag of fine powder from her pocket and sprinkled some over the pages. She lifted the staff and began to recite:_

_"Neddih s'tahw wohs." she said._

_The pages glowed; bits of powder stirred into the air._ _Selene and Elarion watched breathlessly._

 _Finally the glowing stopped, the powder dissolved into the air, and the spell was finished._ _Selene and Elarion bent over the book._

 

_There was no change. The pages remained black._

 

_Selene glared at the book; furious. She tried another spell. Then another. And another._

_Selene tried six spells in total. She would have continued if she hadn't run out of ingredients._

_"Damn!" Selene hissed, rummaging through her pocket, "Damn it all!"_

_Selene reached down and picked the book up._

_"This is some of the strongest magic I've ever seen," she said, turning the black pages backward and forward, "it would've taken hundreds of mages to pull it off...They really must have wanted him gone."_

_Elarion fell to her knees and wept._

_"They took him!" she cried, "They took him! **Father**!"_

_Selene turned to Elarion; she dropped the book and threw her arms around the girl._

_"It's okay." She said, "It's okay. We won't forget him. I promise."_

_Selene helped Elarion to her feet; she pulled her close._

_"I promise you, Elarion, we're not going to let him be forgotten. **I** won't let him be forgotten. I'll destroy all of Xadia before I let that happen."_

_Selene moved back and placed a hand on Elarion's shoulder; she bent down, looked into Elarion's eyes, and smiled._

_"You know? I think he would have wanted **you** to have this." She said, handing Aaravos's staff to Elarion, "You were always one of the top students--it's about time you got a staff of your own, don't you think?"_

_Elarion sniffled; gingerly, she took the staff from Selene. She brought it to her chest and hugged it tightly._

_"...Can you do something for me?" Selene asked, "Something secret? It's really important, Elarion. I don't think I could trust anybody else with it."_

_Elarion looked up at her, cheeks tear-stained; she wiped her nose with the back of her sleeve, then nodded._

" _Great! Here's what you've got to do." Selene bent down closer and in mock-secrecy she murmured, "I need you to come up with a name for this place. Can't have a homeland without a name now can we?"_

_Elarion's eyes widened._

_"That **is** important." she said, "Let me think."_

_Elarion pursed her lips together in consideration. After a moment she looked up to Selene and smiled._

_"Katolis." she whispered, "I like Katolis."_

_Selene grinned._

_"Alright, Katolis it is." she said, ruffling Elarion's hair, "Now remember it's a secret. Don't tell anybody I asked you or folks may get jealous and we'll wind up with a coup on our hands--can't have that, huh?"_

_Elarion smiled._

" _No, we can't have that." she repeated, "I won't tell.”_

_"Good." Selene said; she ruffled Elarion's hair, "...Probably need to get started practicing with that staff--you're going to need all the power you can get when we start pushing back against Xadia."_

_Elarion nodded; smiling through her sadness, she grasped the staff tightly between her hands, turned, and walked away. Selene watched her go. Watched her until she disappeared for her sight. Then she turned to the side; she looked down at the book at her feet._

_"Got you didn't they?" She murmured; she laughed bitterly, "Heh...always told you that you put too much faith in divination...bet you wished you'd have listened to me now, huh Aaravos?"_

_Tears formed in her eyes; scowling, she rubbed them out. She turned her face to the sky; her eyes were ablaze with determination and hatred._

_"...I've got the Key, you know," she said, "Don't know if you can hear me wherever you are, but I've got it--we'll find a way back to Xadia and we'll finish what we've started."_

_She closed her eyes._

_"I **promise**."_

 

Aaravos' eyes snapped opened; he stood rooted to the spot, staring ahead; slowly, he turned his head upward; craned his neck until the base of his head rested against the top of his spine; he spread his arms out wide and closed his eyes. He smiled.

Selene had the Key; she had the Key and she knew how to use it. She would keep fighting. She would fight and kill and lead the others to do the same; ah, he could almost hear the cries of battle--of elven screams and human rage. Even better was the society she was creating. Katolis. The mightiest of human kingdoms. The kingdom that would rise against the Dragon King--the one that would bring the man that would kill him. 

Aaravos felt giddy with the possibilities. Perhaps Viren was already amongst them? A refugee that had been taken in by Selene? Or perhaps he was on his way to them? Eyes determined, thoughts vengeful, and heart vowing destruction to all Xadia?

Aaravos relished the thought. Relished the hope it gave him. It wouldn't be long now. Soon the Dragon King would be dead and he would be freed. He would find his students; he would hug them close and apologize for having them wait so long; he would comfort Elarion and dry her tears; he'd meet Viren at last. Fate had favored him.

"Kill him, Viren." he murmured, eyes still closed, arms still wide, "Kill him. Grind his bones into powder. Tear his flesh from his body. Show that worm your true power. Show him _fear._ "

He let his arms fall to his sides; he opened his eyes.

"Thank you for the message, Selene." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sure, you just keep on hoping Aaravos. What could possibly go wrong? ...>:3c


	6. Since When were Things Simple?

Aaravos made Seeing his students a routine. Every 'morning' and 'evening' in his prison, he would find a place to mediate and he would See them. They had been angry when Selene had revealed the Dragon King's curse; their hatred of Xadia grew to unquenchable blood-thirst from it. They eagerly experimented with the magical supplies they had brought with them; they plotted and planned; they vowed _vengeance_.

More and more humans came to them. More and more were trained in the primal and dark magics. It pleased Aaravos to see his teachings passed on. He eagerly searched for Viren amongst the novice mages in his visions but he was never there. No matter though, he'd come soon enough. Aaravos imagined how he'd appear when he arrived; a refugee with a fatigued countenance yet determined eyes and two young, frightened children in tow. Proud and bold, he'd come to Selene; he'd offer his loyalty to her cause, ask to be trained in the ways of her magic. Harrow would be with him; offering his strength against the Xadian forces. Together, they would prove themselves to Selene and his other students. They would rise up against the Dragon King and bring Katolis to greatness.

Aaravos delighted in the thought; coveted it. He longed for the day it would come to pass.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

...He should have known it wouldn't be so simple.

 

Aaravos sat at his writing desk and stared at the wall, eyes hard; he'd had a vision. One that didn't bode well for his plans.

 

_Selene stood with her arms crossed and her shoulder propped up against a freshly built stone wall. She was staring off into the distance, eyes dark with consternation. Elarion was at her side, staff and all; she placed a comforting hand on Selene's arm._

_"It''s okay to be nervous." she said, giving Selene a few comforting pats._

_"I know." Selene replied, voice quiet; she sighed, "I just hope I'm making the right decision."_

_One of Aaravos other students, a woman named Avani, came into the room; she smiled at Selene._

_"Are you ready?" she asked._

_Selene sighed heavily; she pushed herself off the wall and uncrossed her arms; she ruffled Elarion's hair._

_"Let's hope so." she said_

_Avani gave her a sympathetic_ _smile._

 _"Everything will be fine." she said, "You'll see, things won't change that much_ _."_

_Selene gave her a half-hearted smile in response._

_"If you say so." she replied, "Let's go."_

_Avani held the door open and Selene passed through; Elarion followed her; she took to walking by Selene's side and smiled at her._

_"If it makes you feel better, I think you're going to make a great queen." she said._

 

Aaravos furrowed his brows together in a scowl. He propped his elbows up onto the writing desk and laced his fingers together. This didn't make any sense. _Harrow_ was supposed to be the one who would be crowned the ruler of Katolis. Aaravos had _Seen_ it. So why was Selene being swore in as queen? Perhaps she was trying to keep Katolis operational until someone came along and proved themselves to her? Or maybe Aaravos had missed something in his visions?  Whatever the reason, Aaravos was unnerved. He had been trapped for months already--how much longer would he have to endure this horrible half-existence?

Aaravos pushed his chair back and stood up; he began to pace, glowering at the floor. Perhaps he was just being paranoid; he knew the future after all--the Dragon King would die, he would be set free, and Xadia would fall to darkness--what did it matter if it took another few months or so? But still.

Sighing in frustration, Aaravos fell upon the couch; he put his face in his hands.

He was going _mad_ here. The monotony, the hopelessness--it was all bearing down on him; wanted to crush him. He didn't know how much longer he could take it.

Aaravos shook his head; he took a deep breath. There was no point in dwelling on his circumstances, he had to keep a level head. Propping his face in his hand, he tried to look on the bright side.

 

He had succeeded in freeing humanity from the Xadian's choke-hold; now that they were free of the abuse of the elves and dragons humanity would thrive and more humans would be able to learn magic than ever before. At that very moment they were building mighty civilizations; kingdoms of strength that rivaled even the Dragon King's and would one day be powerful enough to kill the parasitic leech.

Elarion and his students were safe. They were alive and they wanted revenge for his 'death.' They were preparing for war even now; they were training new mages and soldiers--soon they would be an unstoppable force the likes of which Xadia had never seen.

Selene had the key and had vowed to finish things. She would be crowned Queen of Katolis soon and that would give her the power to command armies, sway nations, create real change in the world.

At some point--and admittedly Aaravos didn't know when that point would be--Harrow would make an appearance and be crowned King of Katolis and lead the kingdom into battle with the Dragon King

At some point--another point of time Aaravos was unsure of--Viren would come. He'd take to the art of magic and become a powerful mage; he'd march to battle alongside Harrow; he'd kill the Dragon King.

 

Indeed, Aaravos had a lot to be thankful for; he had succeeded in some of his goals and the future ones were set in motion--the visions were strong; they would come to pass one day, all he had to do was wait.

Aaravos took another deep breath; yes, he just had to be patient, all was not lost. 

 

He probablyshould lessen the time he spent on his divining sessions, though. While it certainly helped keep his mind stable and while he enjoyed Seeing Elarion and the others, it had also caused him to neglect truly planning for the future. How would he get out of Xadia once he was freed? What would he say to Elarion about his prolonged absence? What would he say to Selene? To his other students? How would he justify himself to the humans who recognized him as one the elves that had dragged them from their homes to a land unknown? How would he justify himself to Viren when they met?--these were all things he should be preparing for, yet he had allowed himself to get swallowed up in self pity and useless sentimentality. Selene had been right; he relied on his divination powers too much. He needed to find more productive ways to occupy his time.

 

...And he had just the thing.

 

Aaravos got from the couch; he smoothed out his robes. With a lively step, he walked out of the living room; he traveled through his prison gathering items: knives, bowls, cloth, anything that he felt would be useful. When he felt like he had all he needed, he brought the items back to the living room and set them on the couch. 

 

"Something simple first I think." he said to himself, "Perhaps something familiar?"

 

He stationed himself on his knees by the couch; he took a bowl and a knife from the collection of items. He put the bowl on the floor and raised his hand over it. He pressed the knife to his palm. He paused.

 

 "...A teacher needs his students." he murmured.

 

With a flick of his wrist, Selene appeared before him, as did Elarion, Avani, all of his other students...

 

And Viren.

 

He glanced around at all the familiar faces; he had to remember that they were just illusions, no more sentient than dolls--but Aaravos still felt an ache in his heart looking at them, still felt the the prick of unshed tears in the corners of his eyes. 

Aaravos shook his head; he wiped the tears from his eyes. He looked up and gave a small smile to the group.

"Hello everyone," he said, voice thick with emotion, "it's good to see you all well...I must apologize for my prolonged absence. There had been some...unforeseeable consequences in my plan to destabilize the Dragon King's court."

"Told you so." Selene quipped, good-naturedly, before her voice grew serious, "How were you found out exactly? Were you caught on your way back to us?"--a hint of anger came into her tone--"Did they hurt you?"

"There was some...pain involved, yes"--the group let out exclamations of rage--"but listen to me, now is not the time to lose sight of what's important. And what's important right now is keeping our wits sharp and our power unmeasurable. We must research and train if we want to defeat Xadia. We'll also need to recruit more humans for our cause...speaking of which..."

He turned to look at Viren.

"...I don't think we've properly met?" he whispered.

"Haven't we?" Viren replied, a knowing smile on his face.

"It's only polite to introduce yourself." Aaravos stated, smiling fondly, "For those here who don't know already know you."

"I suppose that's fair." he said, "I'm Viren."

"Viren." Aaravos repeated, "It's nice to finally make your acquaintance."

"It's nice to finally make yours." Viren replied; then his voice became soft, "I'm sorry I kept you waiting so long." 

Aaravos dashed more tears from his eyes. He cleared his throat and gestured to the space in front of him.

"Join me." He murmured, "You can help me with the demonstration."

Viren strode toward him; the others made room for his path. He sank to his knees in front of Aaravos. Aaravos nodded his approval.

"You all remember this lesson I take it?" Aaravos said, his eyes holding Viren's, "Let's show our newest mage what dark magic can do."

Aaravos turned his attention back to his palm; he made a clean slice into it. He watched his blood pool into the bowl; he glanced up to catch Viren's reaction. Viren watched the blood drip from Aaravos' hand; his gray eyes intrigued. 

Aaravos smiled. He lifted his uncut hand and waved it over the bowl; he recited:

 

"thgil ruoy erahs, doolb enihsrats."

 

The blood began to glow in the bowl; the glow grew in intensity until it became a blinding light. Aaravos threw his arm in front of his eyes to shield them; Viren followed suit, as did all of Aaravos' students. After a few moments, the light faded away leaving only the now-empty bowl and the smallest traces of stardust in the air. 

"Magnificent." Viren whispered, awestruck.

"Oh, that's nothing." Aaravos said, "Just a pretty trick, really. There are far greater spells I can show you."--Aaravos got up; he extended a hand to help Viren to his feet.--"Interested?"

Viren took his hand.

"Very." He replied

Aaravos smiled; he reached forward and gripped Viren's shoulder.

"I was hoping you'd say that." he whispered. He turned to his other students, "Any suggestions of what spell we should try next?"

The crowd went wild with excitement; they began naming off spells left and right.

"The hanging stars, father! They're so pretty!"--"Why not a practical spell? Like the light barrier?"--"Let's keep it simple; how about the dark flames?"--"Yes! Let's do the flames!"--"It's the perfect spell for a beginner!"--"The flame one!"--

Aaravos grinned; he reached up and plucked a few strands of his hair.

"The dark flames it is." He said; he divided the strands between himself and Viren.

"Hold them tightly." he murmured, "And watch me."

Aaravos gripped the hair tightly in his hand; he wove some between his fingers and circled more around his thumb.

 

"Semalf tilrats; krad ot thgil." he recited.

 

The white hair turned dark; it smoked like embers; the smoke grew into a black flame in his hand.

"Your turn." he said to Viren as the flame died down.

Viren raised an quizzical eyebrow; slowly, he threaded the hair between his fingers, wound it around his thumb.

 

"Semalf tilrats," he began, "krad ot thgil." 

 

The hair turned black like before; Viren flinched as it began to smoke.

"It's alright, it doesn't burn." Aaravos comforted.

Viren glanced at him; he relaxed a little. The smoke turned into a flame in his hand.

"Amazing." he breathed, cupping the flame with his free hand.

Aaravos smiled warmly.

"What next?" he asked his students; he listened as they voiced more suggestions, but his eyes never left Viren's face. Viren looked up and their eyes met. 

"There's so much I can offer you." Aaravos murmured, "So much I can teach."

"Perhaps we can teach each other." Viren offered; he smiled, "I hope I can exceed expectation."

Aaravos smiled.

 

"You already have."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally I thought that Aaravos would just start merging his visions with reality...then I remembered he's mastered the moon arcanum...Things are about to get serious...>:3c


	7. The Descent

Aaravos lessened his visions to once a week, focusing most of his time on dark magic spells and lessons with Viren and his students The weeks waned on slowly, but he continued to wait; continued to hope. Then weeks turned into months...and months turned into years.

 

...And years...turned into _decades_.

 

...

 

..........

 

.......................It wasn't supposed to be like this.........................

  

_The Dragon King slashed through Selene's army like a lion amongst rabbits. So many humans were lost, many his students._

_"Don't give up!" Selene cried, sword raised and eyes black, "Fight him!"_

_The Dragon King roared; he tore through the soldiers and mages and came upon Selene. He trapped her between his claws._

_"...I remember you." he growled, "You were one of **his** humans."_

_"And I **remain** one of his." Selene snipped back, "I'm here for justice; I will make you pay for what you've done."_

_The king snorted._

_"What **I've** done?" he said, "It's your kind that steal magic from it's chosen masters; how dare you speak to me of justice, just look at you! Eyes black as death--you've killed thousands of creatures for your abominable art; you've murdered elves and dragons--tell me ~mage~ how would you justify their deaths to their kin, hm? Would you tell them that it was nothing personal, that their loved ones were just tools? Or perhaps you would simply apologize for their loss?"_

_Selene laughed._

_"I would allow them to join their kin." She said, "That's all you Xadians are good for. You have the audacity to speak of murder? How many humans were lost when you exiled us all to the west? How would **you** justify yourself to **them** Thunder-maker?"--she bared her teeth at him--"_ _Your kind has terrorized and killed humans for centuries, we **begged** you for mercy, for peace, for acceptance but you treated us like dirt."--she gripped at one of his talons--" **I'm done begging**."_

_Flames poured from Selene's hand; they engulfed the talon and spread to the rest of the Dragon King's claws--he howled in pain and withdrew his grasp; Selene scrambled to her feet; she scowled at the Dragon King, hand still aflame._

_"I will **kill** you, Thunder-maker." _

_The king glared at her and roared; Selene roared back. They both advanced--the king lifted his uninjured claw, Selene raised her flaming hand--there was a blast of power and--_

_Selene was thrown backward; she landed hard on the ground a yard or so away; a deep wound spread across her neck and collar, she gripped it tightly, blood seeped through her fingers._

_"...Consider that a warning, human." The Dragon King growled, he turned and took to the skies, leaving Selene to be picked up by her few surviving soldiers._

 

 .....

.......................

 

Selene stood before him; she was older with her face lined with wrinkles and white streaks in her hair. The wound the Dragon King had left upon her was now a dark scar.

"Is this what you wanted Aaravos?" she asked, eyeing him hard, "To watch me suffer?"

Aaravos took a few steps toward her, arms open.

"Selene, I--"

" _No_. Don't come near me." Selene commanded, narrowing her eyes, "You've lost that right."

Aaravos flinched at her tone; he stopped walking towards her and lowered his arms. He looked at her sadly.

Selene met his gaze with a look of cold indifference; slowly, she unbuttoned her coat and let it fall to the floor in a heap--more scars riddled her arms and shoulders; she spread her arms wide.

"Dragons have sunk their claws and teeth into me." she said, "Elves have cut me, beat me, broken my bones."

She let her arms fall to her sides.

"...And now I find out the one Xadian I thought I could trust betrayed me." her voice was soft; she was hurt, "You _used_ me."

Aaravos' eyes widened at the accusation. 

"NO! Selene I never--"

"You **lied** to me!" Selene screamed, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks, "You told me we would be victorious, that we would finally have justice! But you went crawling back to the Dragon King as soon as we all left. _You_ were the one who made the barrier that bars us from returning home!  _Y_ _ou_ were the one who told the Dragon King to banish all humanity from Xadia!  _You_ _even led in the efforts of rounding up humans to drag away_! How many children did you watch die Aaravos? How many fathers? Daughters? Grandparents? Their blood is on _your_ hands!"

" _SELENE_!" Aaravos shouted, "Gods, just  _listen_ to me!" 

" _WHY SHOULD I_?!" she screeched, sobbing, "I listened to you before and look what happened! People have died, Aaravos! People _are_ dying! What could you possible say that could excuse that?!"

She put her face in her hands and fell to her knees; her shoulders and back heaving with her sobs. Aaravos' heart broke; he rushed forward and dropped to his knees before her. He threw his arms around her

" _Selene_." he whispered, choking back his own tears as his arms closed around her shoulders

"It's your fault." she said; she turned to dust before his eyes; his arms closed around empty air. He fell forward.

He laid there for ages; tears running down his cheeks; he nuzzled his face into the carpet, where he imagined he could still feel the warmth of where Selene had been.

 

...

 

..........

 

.......................It wasn't supposed to be like this.........................

 

_Elarion stood looking out a window; she leaned forward heavily, with both hands pressed firmly against the window sill; she was an adult now, just a few years shy of thirty, and had a serious countenance._

_"No." She said, "I've told you before."_

_Selene sighed heavily from her desk. She put the documents she had been mulling over away and got up; she walked over to Elarion._

_"Sometimes we have to do things we don't want, Elarion." She said, "I understand your hesitation, I really do, but you have to consider what's at stake. I have ten_ _more years at most. Katolis is going to need another ruler. You're a seasoned soldier and mage, you understand politics and the responsibilities of leadership; you're the best choice for the throne."_

_Elarion snorted._

_"I'm also a dark mage." she huffed, "And dark mages have become quite a taboo in recent years. The people blame us for the banishment and the ongoing Xadian hostility"_

_She turned from the window to face Selene; she folded her arms across her chest._

_"I know what's at stake, mother." she said, "...I also know what we risk by having another dark sorcerer on the throne. There are already whispers of civil war; people have talked about rounding us all up and offering us to the Dragon King to pardon the rest of humanity."--she_ _pointed to the white streaks in her hair, then to her black eyes--"How much more likely do you think that would come to pass with a queen that looks like this?"_

_Selene frowned; she pointed to her own black eyes._

_"They haven't been giving me much grief."_

_"They **respect** you." Elarion countered, "You've built a strong kingdom in less than thirty years, you've fought Thunder and survived, you've earned their trust and awe--I have not. They don't respect me like they do you, all I have is their fear."_

_Elarion turned back to the window._

_"...It doesn't matter how good of a soldier I am or how well I know politics. If I take the throne all the people will see is another dark mage with power over their lives and they will resent it." She said, "What we need is someone with good standing. Someone the people already admire but is level-headed enough for the responsibilities of the crown..."_

_"...Your sister?" Selene said, "But she's still so young!"_

_"She's twenty not twelve, mother." Elarion replied, exasperated, "And she's our best option. She has the people's favor and the know-how to properly rule. Anyone else would put Katolis at risk."_

_"What makes you so sure?" Selene asked._

_Elarion was silent for a moment_

_"...I've...Seen it." she said after a time._

_Selene froze. She closed her eyes and inhaled slowly._

_"...You know how I feel about divination, Elarion." she murmured._

  _"...I know." Elarion said, voice quiet, "...But in this particular case I felt it was necessary to get a feel of the consequences we may face--to be prepared if nothing else."_

_Selene let out a deep sigh; she opened her eyes to look at Elarion._

_"...We'll have to talk to her first." She asked, "She has a right to decide if this is what she wants as well."_

_"Of course." Elarion agreed; she walked over and squeezed Selene's shoulder, "This is for the best, mother, you'll see. Things will turn out all right."_

_"Let's hope so." Selene replied._

_The walked out of the room together._

 

 .....

.......................

 

Elarion didn't look at him. She focused on the book in her hand.

"Are you proud, father?" she asked, eyes not leaving the page she was reading.

"I've always been proud of you." Aaravos said quietly.

"Is that right?" Elarion replied, giving Aaravos a sideways glare, "I'm _touched_."

She closed the book in a huff; she turned and placed it on the writing desk, then she turned back around and faced him fully, arms folded tightly across her chest.

"Tell me, _father_ ," She began, "If you're so proud of me then why did you run off and abandon me?"

"I _didn't_." Aaravos croaked.

"You _did_." Elarion hissed in reply.

She let her arms fall to her sides, her hands wound into tight fists; glaring, she took a step toward him; Aaravos took a step back

"Had I become a burden to you?" she asked, tone soft and lethal, "Was I ~too much to handle~? Is that it?"

She took another step forward; Aaravos took another step back.

"Or maybe..." she growled, "maybe I was just a a means-to-an-end. A _pawn_. Something you could use to further your own ambitions--for all the good it did you."

She took yet another step forward; Aaravos stepped back, he hit a wall.

"I never wanted this." He whispered

Elarion scowled; she reached up and took his cloak collar between both hands; she dragged him down until they were eye-level

"What you wanted doesn't matter." she said, voice clipped, "What you _did_ matters...and there's no making up for what you've done."

Aaravos distorted into one of grief; slowly, he reached up to touch her face.

"Let's see how you like being abandoned." she hissed, " _Goodbye_ ~father~."

She disappeared.

Aaravos stood frozen; still bent forward from where Elarion had pulled him down, hand still raised.

Slowly, he raised his hand and covered his own face. He began to sob.

 

...

 

..........

 

..........................

 

................................................................

 

.................................................................................................................

 

 

"Selene's dead." Aaravos murmured, "And Avani. And Elarion. They're all gone."

"I know." Viren said, gently.

Aaravos laid his head on Viren's lap; he stared blankly into space.

"I had promised I would return to them. That we would be victorious. I had promised them."

"...I know." Viren whispered; he carded his fingers through Aaravos' hair comfortingly. Aaravos sighed at the touch.

"Viren..." he murmured; he lifted his head and turned to nuzzle his face into the other's stomach; he wrapped his arms around him.

Viren cradled the back of Aaravos' head in his hands; he took to carding through Aaravos' hair again. Aaravos sighed.

They laid like that for a time, with Viren threading his fingers through Aaravos' hair, running his hands comfortingly down his back, wiping the tears from his eyes, and Aaravos sighing at every touch.

"I have a question." Viren murmured

"Ask." Aaravos replied, pulling him closer.

"...How long are you going to keep doing this?"

Aaravos went rigid; slowly, he turned his head up to look at Viren, his eyes vacant.

Viren looked back at him, his eyes narrowed.

"...You think you know what I'm going to say?" he asked.

"No...yes...but say it anyway." Aaravos whispered, "Just talk to me."

Viren half-laughed, half-huffed.

"So I should indulge you?" he said, icily,  "You who betrayed humanity? Thousands of people have died--all because you couldn't let go of your petty ambition."

Aaravos grimaced at the accusation.

"Everything I've ever done I've done for _you_." he said, "You and all humans. The betterment of humanity has been my only _ambition_ , Viren."

Viren rolled his eyes.

"And yet for some unknown reason that ~betterment~ always included a future with me." he said, "How very _convenient_."

Aaravos' eyes widened and his mouth fell open slightly; Viren might as well have slapped him.

Viren saw his shocked expression and lifted an eyebrow, unimpressed; he continued:

"Was it so impossible to find another future?" he asked, "Did you even _try_?"

Aaravos said nothing.

Viren _tsked_  in annoyance; he put his hands on Aaravos shoulders and pushed him away. Aaravos mewled in protest and tried to pull Viren back into his arms. Viren yanked himself away; he got up from the bed and walked to the middle of the room.

"What makes you think I would even have you?" he said, staring at the wall; he stood tall and straight and with his arms folded behind his back, "Do you think I would just 'understand' and come skipping to your side? You aided in the exodus of my kind from Xadia. You created the barrier. Humanity has suffered famine, disease, and death because of you. Thunder has terrorized us because of you. Elves and dragons continue to subdue us. Tell me Aaravos, why would I choose to be with you when you've caused all of this?"

Aaravos got up from the bed.

"I was just trying to help." he said, "I didn't want to hurt you--I've  _never_  wanted to hurt you."

He took a few steps toward Viren.

" _I love you_." he said quietly, "Viren, I love you."

Viren huffed. 

"Oh yes," he said, tone dripping sarcasm, "because  _spying_ on my life is a measure of love."

Aaravos flinched.

"...I...I didn't mean any harm." he said, almost pleading.

"Does it matter? You caused harm nonetheless." Viren replied, his arms dropped to his sides; he turned around to face Aaravos, "Has it been worth it? This little obsession you have with me?"--he spread his arms and shrugged his shoulders--"Are you satisfied?"

Aaravos stepped toward him; he reached out a hand.

"Viren." he murmured, "Please, let me explain."

Viren slapped his hand away.

" _Don't_." he growled, "Don't touch me, _elf_."

Aaravos gasped; his face twisted into a look of pain. Viren scoffed.

"Oh? Do you dislike being compared to them?" he asked, sarcastically, "Even after all the pain you helped them unleash? You spent decades on their council before you involved yourself with humanity. Plenty of humans came to the council for help in that time, but the council--yourself included--ignored them."

Viren stepped closer; his eyes turned black, particles of magic floated away from his face like dust, leaving him with the beautiful gray skin lined with dark, lush veins that Aaravos adored.

"...How many people did you watch suffer back then I wonder." Viren whispered, tone lethal; he took another step, "How did you justify it? Was it for the 'greater good?' Or maybe you just ignored it."

Viren stood in front of him now, right within arm's reach; his eyebrows pushed down in a deep scowl, and the corner of his upper lip raised in disgust.

" _You_ ," he pointed at Aaravos, "are a murderer. You're a hypocrite. You're a _liar_."

Aaravos felt tears form in the corner of his eyes, but Viren wasn't finished.

"--You're powerless! Useless! Why you're so useless--"

" _STOP!_ " Aaravos shouted, he reached out to grab him, " _Stop it_ , _Viren_!"

His hands grabbed empty space; he stumbled forward--passing right through Viren--and fell onto his hands and knees.

"--you can't even be bothered to create a solid illusion."

Aaravos turned his head to look over his shoulder; he rolled his eyes up to see Viren's face. Viren looked over his own shoulder, eyes narrowed at Aaravos. 

"Pathetic." he growled; he turned--Aaravos followed his movement as he walked around; he lowered himself to one knee in front of Aaravos.

"...You never answered my question." he said, "So I'll ask again--how long are you going to keep doing this? You and I both know that this playing pretend does nothing but allow you to wallow like a child; if you need a clear reminder then let me be the one to tell you that  _this_ "--he waved a hand in front of his face--"isn't real. It's never been real. Everything I say and do is scripted to what you _want_ me to say or do--even now you're making me patter on because you grew tired of punishing yourself."

Viren took Aaravos' jaw into his hand; he looked at him impassively.

"You want to fix things?" he stated, "You can start by going after Thunder--make _sure_ he meets me on that battlefield."

"How?" Aaravos asked, "How do I do that?"

"Manipulation." Viren replied, "Plant seeds in his mind and the minds of whoever else is necessary. You've always been very persuasive, Aaravos--you also have your powers of divination; See the path that he needs to take."

He let go of Aaravos' face and stood up; he folded his arms behind his back.

"You have all the power you need." He said--his body began to disintegrate like smoke before Aaravos' eyes, "You just have to be a bit wiser in how you use it."

Aaravos got to his feet; he reached for Viren's face; it faded under his hand. Aaravos let his hand linger in the air.

He sighed and walked back to the bed and laid down on his stomach; he stared absently at the wall.

 

 

 

_It wasn't supposed to be like this._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angst. Angst. AAAANNNNNGGGSSSTTTT!!!!!
> 
> This is where the new tags come to play everybody. I hope you guys enjoy--it was fun to write.


	8. The Webs of Fate

Aaravos ceased Seeing Katolis; he stopped with the illusions; he buried his guilt. They had done nothing for him. They were useless, weak, self-serving things that crippled his actions and impaired his judgement. He needed to be proactive; he needed to be cunning.

He focused his attentions on Thunder; he watched him. He took note of his actions and moods. He Saw his future and tucked away the varying possibilities. He observed those close to him--his queen, his servants and guards, his advisors--he measured their use and what roles they could play for him.

Many were too afraid to come near his mirror, as was expected. Aaravos relished in their fear. He knew how he was perceived by the Xadians. He was the villain of their stories; he was the serpent, forked-tongued and seductive, whispering promises to the weak-willed, enticing them to come close; he was the spider ensnaring the unwary in his web, wrapping them in threads of lies and deceit. He was all those things that would lie in wait, that let fool-hardy prey doom themselves. They feared him for it. They hated him for it. They _hated_ him and he relished in that too. 

Aaravos stood with his fingers and thumbs pressed together in front of his abdomen and a soft smile on his face. He stood and Saw. He filtered through the visions until he had a map of what was needed.

He smirked; he left the room and strode down the hall--he went into the library and took a few books from the shelves; he placed them on the table; he opened one particularly large volume and began to pour over the text. He ignored the mirror.

He spent an hour or so reading. When he was finished, he gathered up the books and placed them back on the shelves. He began to walk out of the room, but paused just as he was at the door; he turned to the mirror. He walked over and stared at his reflection. His eyes shifted across the glass surface, across the embroidered frame. He had spent enough time in this prison to notice when something was different; the tiniest little discrepancy never escaped him; he knew every color or lack thereof, he knew every shape, and  _h_ _e knew someone was watching him_. He did not acknowledge them; keeping his face expressionless, he reached up and adjusted the collar of his robe; he turned and walked away; he left the library. 

As soon as the door was closed behind him; he pressed his fingers together and Saw. 

 

_A young moonshadow had been watching him. She was cocky--she thought he didn't know she was there, that she had power over him--how amusing--she was a guard apparently, fresh out of training. She wore the traditional guard's uniform as well as an engagement necklace. Soon she would have to make a choice between her position as a guard and her role as a fiancee--and he needed her to choose her guardship. She would be indisputably useful to him; she was a formidable soldier, yet still very inexperienced--gullible even. She would be easy to persuade as he wished. He needed to keep her close._

 

The vision faded; Aaravos smiled--he strode to his living room; centering himself in the middle of the room, he plucked a few strands of his hair. Holding them tight, he bit into a finger on his free hand hard enough to draw blood. He spread his blood along the hair filaments--he began to split the hair into pieces. 

 

"Ecifircas cimsoc," he recited, "emoceb elohw."

 

He released the hair from his hand; they floated in the air separately at first, but they slowly pulled themselves together, until they became a single soft, glowing ball of light. He took the ball into his hand--he drew a few primal runes into it, then he released it and watched it float in midair.

"Go to the moonshadow." He commanded, "Haunt her. Show her visions of death and blood."--he smiled darkly--"Make them as gruesome as possible. Strike fear into her heart. Make _sure_ she stays."

The little light bobbed in the air, it spread itself out into a thin wisp of stardust. Curling like smoke, it floated out of the room; Aaravos peeked out the door and watched it proceed down the hall. That should do the trick--it would play upon her sense of duty and make her feel like she couldn't give up her role, that she needed to protect Thunder; he grinned...moonshadows were such an arrogant lot.

When the light finally disappeared from his sight he went to his desk; he opened a blank journal and recorded the previous events. Afterwards, he retired to bed; he dreamt of the future, of black eyes and starlight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Aaravos spent weeks shifting through the moonshadow's mind, sending her visions, whispering suggestions, preparing her for her role in his game.

 

"Would she not understand?" he whispered, soft and sweet in her dreams, "You have been given the honor to guard the Dragon King himself; you must do your duty."

"But I also have duties to _her_." was the reply, "She's my wife--well, wife-to-be; I love her and I made a promise--if I can't even honor a single promise what kind of wife would I be for her?"

"She knew what she was getting involved with when she agreed to your engagement." Aaravos soothed, "She knew what it would mean for her and she still chose you. She will understand."

"And if she doesn't?" the moonshadow asked.

"Then she doesn't deserve you." Aaravos said, "If she can't understand the importance of your position then she never truly loved you at all."

The moonshadow breathed a tired sigh. There was a long pause.

"...I don't know if I can do it." the moonshadow whispered, hushed and sorrowful

"You _must_." Aaravos stated, "You've seen the death the humans bring; you've heard the legends of their dark power...tell me, do you think any other guard understands the severity of what's at stake? Do you think they will be able to protect the king like you could?"

"...No." she said

"Then you know what you have to do." he said, "Postpone your wedding. Tell your bride that you have a duty of utmost importance--if she cares for you she can wait a while longer."

The moonshadow fell silent. She was silent for what felt like ages.

"...I hope I'm making the right decision." she murmured, " _Gods_ I hope I'm making the right decision."

Aaravos smiled.

"You are." he said, "Trust yourself."

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

 

After the the moonshadow there was a sunfire elf. He was a scholar of lanky build and a bookish countenance; he wore light robes of plain red cloth, but he also wore gold bands around his horns and a circlet around his head--so he enjoyed a bit finery. He wasn't so naive as the moonshadow had been, but he was ambitious--hungry for power and recognition--and that made him easy prey.

 

"Do you not think you deserve it?" Aaravos cooed, "There's none who know the ways of the court better. You've worked and studied for the position for years...why do you hesitate now?"

"I wouldn't expect a dream-sprite to understand." the sunfire clipped back; he sniffed cynically, "Sometimes things take a little longer than expected, that's all. I'm sure they will see in time. I just have to wait."

"But what if they don't come around?" Aaravos asked, "What if you spend years waiting and you're never acknowledged? You shouldn't take that risk. You have the opportunity now _\--_ take it."

The sunfire clicked his tongue. He didn't speak.

"What ails you?" Aaravos asked, gently.

"I am...conflicted." the sunfire replied, "...I've never sabotaged someone before." 

"All is fair in politics." Aaravos stated, "Don't pretend you didn't know what you were getting into. You know the game--false smiles, honeyed-words, unknowable intents...think of this as test. Are you strong enough to do what must be done? Or are you content to let fools run your life?"

There was a heavy silence.

"...I won't let the court be controlled by idiots." the sunfire growled, "Whatever I have to do I'll do it. For Xadia. For the King."

"For king and country." Aaravos agreed.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

 

Aaravos ensnared countless elves over the centuries. Generations upon generations fell into his grasp; he bound them to their fates like flies in a web--as was fitting. He was the spider after all; he was the snake, the tempter, the villain. He was the 'evil' that contrasted their 'good.'

Aaravos smiled softly; it was liberating to be the monster--he used who he wished, hurt who he wished. The Xadians were nothing but pawns to him. They were toys. They were at his mercy and they didn't even realize it.

Aaravos floated serenely through his lair. Soon all of Xadia would find out just how 'monstrous' he could be. He would bring death and destruction upon them...and he wouldn't be alone.

Aaravos smirked.

If he was the serpent then Viren was the wolf; if he was the spider, Viren was the scorpion. Where Aaravos would lie in wait, Viren would go out and seek; he would _hunt_. Viren was all those things that stalked their prey, that struck with relish at even the slightest opportunity. Together, they made a perfect match.

Aaravos strode into his bedroom; he lied down on the bed and nuzzled his face into the pillows. He hadn't met Viren yet, but that didn't matter--his vision was stronger than ever before. Viren would come to him soon. He could feel it.

The day they would meet was close at hand.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Aaravos was in the library; he flipped through the pages of worn book; he faced away from the mirror.

"Aaravos."

"Thunder." Aaravos replied, not lifting his eyes from the book.

"I killed more of your humans today."

Aaravs glanced sideways at the mirror; Thunder was leaning in close, his breath fogging the other side of the glass; he was giving Aaravos a toothy grin.

"Three women and a man." Thunder continued, "Like they were nothing."

Aaravos closed his book and put it back on the shelf; he strode over to the mirror.

"You know better than to lie to me." he murmured.

Thunder scowled. 

"I saw them die." he growled, "Four humans; I crushed them beneath my tail; I struck them down with lightening--"

"Yet you only found three bodies." Aaravos interrupted, placing his hands on the glass, "The three women...but where is the man?"

Aaravos glared at Thunder from under his eyelashes; his grin was positively diabolical.

"Congratulations Thunder." Aaravos said, "You've met your destruction. He will be back for you."

Thunder pulled away from the mirror; his eyes were hard--but there was a touch of fear in them.

"You're lying." he growled, "You're lying. I killed him."

"No." Aaravos hummed, "No, you didn't. You merely sealed your fate. You planted a seed of hate in him. It will take root and fester in his heart and make him strong. He will come back for his vengeance."

"It's his death then!" Thunder bellowed, eyes hard, "If I see him again I'll rip him to pieces!"--he jutted his face back toward the mirror--"I'll make you watch!"

"Oh _please,_ " Aaravos said, glancing down to adjust his robes, "Spare me your empty threats. You've _lost_ , Thunder."--Aaravos raised his eyes to meet the dragon's; smiling softly, he folded his arms behind his back--"I've longed for this day for a long time...Tell me. Did you enjoy the way he encased you in ice? That little taste of his power, hm?"--Aaravos' smile turned into a grin--"Did you see that gleam in his eyes? That rage? Hm?"

Thunder began to pace around his lair in agitation. Aaravos bent forward slightly.

"You have no one to blame but yourself for this." He said, "You could have let the humans leave peacefully. You could have sought peace with them. You could have _listened_ to me when I asked you to give them equal opportunities all those years ago...you did not. Now you will pay the price."

Aaravos straightened himself to his full height.

"I look forward to his return." he murmured, "He and I will have much to talk about once he kills you...perhaps he will even allow me to watch as he dissects your corpse for spell ingredients."

Thunder gnashed his teeth threateningly...but he couldn't hide the shudder that had gone up his spine. Aaravos put a hand on the mirror's surface.

"Goodbye ~your highness~ may the pits of hell welcome you with open arms." 

Giving a soft nod, Aaravos slowly turned and walked out of the library; he laughed as Thunder roared after him--barraging him with insults and threats.

He strode down the hall and into his bedroom; he laid on the bed and sighed contentedly; in his dreams he heard the soft whisper of a dragon's last breath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks like Aaravos finally found a way to get some spells to work for him. And all it took was combining primal and dark magic, who'd have thought! :D
> 
> Anyway, this is the part where Aaravos starts to become...well, Aaravos.


	9. Darling

Aaravos continued his game--he continued to seduce and manipulate those he could. Thunder didn't speak to him except to threaten him or demand information about Viren--Aaravos would merely smile and shake his head, refusing to indulge him.

 

"You can ask your questions to him directly when you meet again." Aaravos stated.

"Tell me his name." Thunder commanded, "Tell me that much and I swear to you that the rest of humanity will be allowed to live in peace."--he leaned in close--"I'll make his end quick, I promise. What's one life in exchange for all of humanity, Aaravos? He's just a man. There are thousands others just like him--just give me his name and they will all be safe."

"No." 

Thunder roared; sparks of lightening fell from his mouth. Aaravos smirked.

"...Don't you have more important matters to worry about?" Aaravos asked--he glanced around Thunder at the sparkling egg behind him; Thunder positioned himself between it and Aaravos.

"...You'd do well not to make threats toward my child." he growled, "Give me the human's name. _Now_. Or all humanity will suffer for your selfishness."

Aaravos laughed.

"You won't be around to harm humanity much longer!" he crowed--he narrowed his eyes into cat-like slits, "The day is almost upon us...it will come sooner than you think."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Thunder grew more and more agitated in the following months; his advisors and guards grew restless.

 

"Something is happening." Aaravos whispered into the dreams of a young oceandeep advisor, "Tell me what you know."

"We're preparing for battle." the oceandeep replied, "The humans have been becoming more hostile lately."

"Is that so?" Aaravos said, grinning, "Tell me--what humans are causing the most trouble?"

"Katolians." they said, "The Katolian king wants vengeance for the death of his wife nine years ago."

The oceandeep shivered slightly.

"He--he has a dark mage." they continued, "I've--I've heard things."

"What have you heard?" Aaravos prompted, trying to hide the eagerness in his voice.

"I've heard that he uses the ashes of elves to track targets." they replied, "That he grinds dragon bones to make poison."--they were trembling hard now--"I've heard he isn't even _human_ , that he's some sort of--sort of--Emissary of _Evil_."

"Emissary of Evil..." Aaravos mused; he chuckled, "How ridiculous! Aren't you supposed to be a scholar? What kind of intellectual believes every little rumor that comes there way?"

The oceandeep frowned; they blushed from embarrassment.

"I assure you he's as human as they come." Aaravos continued, "You have nothing to worry about."

"...You're certain?" they asked.

"Of course." Aaravos soothed, "It will all be fine"--he smirked--"everything will go as planned."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 

Thunder stormed into the room and began to pace; he glared at Aaravos. Aaravos smirked at him.  

"You're right to be afraid." he said.

"I'll kill him." Thunder growled, "Him and all humanity. I'll kill _you_. You love the humans so much? You can join them in death."

Aaravos hummed in reply; he threaded his fingers through his hair.

"I think not." he cooed, twirling a piece of hair around his index finger; he tilted his head, "You're time is over, Thunder. He's close, I can feel it. You have mere days left. You're going to _die_."--he released his hair and clapped his hands together--"You'll _die_!--You'll die! You'll die! You'll die! Oh, I can't _wait_!"

Aaravos began to laugh; he laughed long and hard. Thunder snarled in response and stalked toward the mirror; he leaned forward until only one great eye filled the frame.

"If I'm going to die," he said, low and dangerous, "then I'll die knowing you can never harm Xadia again."

"Oh?" Aaravos said still chuckling, "And how will you do that? Surely you don't think--"

Lightening fired from Thunder's jaws; it covered all of the mirror; the glass glowed blue and white, then grew dark. Aaravos blinked; after a beat he smirked and lifted a condescending eyebrow.

" _Really_ , Thunder?" he chided; he lifted his hand--all the light in the room came flowing to him; he crushed it within his grasp, "Interrupting me mid-sentence? How _petty_ of you."

Thunder's lair came back into view, but Thunder himself was no where to be seen.

Aaravos grinned.

"That's right you _worm._ " he said, "Go prepare for your death."

Aaravos strode over to his table.

"After all the planning and scheming..."

He sat down and propped his elbows up; he interlaced his fingers together and nestled his chin in the basin they made. 

"...All the pieces have finally come together."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Aaravos stood in front of the mirror, his hands clasped together in front of him. Thunder's lair was empty now and unnaturally quiet. Aaravos smirked to himself.

"Silent as the grave." he mused; he turned his gaze to the entrance and watched it intently.

A few minutes passed. Then a shadow passed over the stone floor; a figure appeared in the entryway.

Aaravos smiled warmly; his eyelids dipped low and he opened his arms.

" _Darling_." he whispered.

Viren stood rigidly in the entrance, fresh dark veins decorated his gray skin, his black eyes shifted back and forth; he wore a large satchel and a deep scowl. He gripped the staff-- _their_ staff--tightly in both hands; it was still in its elongated form from battle; he raised it defensively and stepped forward a few spaces.

"Don't be afraid." Aaravos murmured, "The worst is over."

Viren relaxed a little; he flipped the staff closed and walked into the middle of the room--he was close enough that Aaravos could now see little patches of dark dragon-blood on his robes.  

"Taught him quite the lesson now didn't we?" He said, tone soft and lilting, "I hope you managed to harvest his heart at least--dragon hearts are an incredibly versatile ingredient."

Viren brushed off his robes; hooking the staff in the crook of his elbow, he reached up and adjusted his satchel. Aaravos pressed his hands against the glass of the mirror.

"Come to me." he purred--he spoke louder now; he wanted to be heard, "Viren, come to me."

Viren ignored him; Aaravos frowned.

"...Can't you hear me?" he asked. Viren didn't respond.

Aaravos stepped back from the mirror, brows knitted in confusion. He sorted through the events of the past few days. It was then that he remembered Thunder's threat. As realization dawned on him, Aaravos' face twisted into a cold, dark glower; he lifted his head and glared at the ceiling.

"Very clever, Thunder." He growled, "For a dragon at least...it seems you can still  hinder me even beyond the grave...but no matter."

Aaravos lowered his head. He turned his gaze back to Viren and smiled gently.

"...Everything I need is with me regardless..." he murmured, eyes hooded, "Darling, did you know the fool actually thought he could kill you? Dragons are an idiotic lot aren't they?"

Viren didn't respond of course. Aaravos contented himself to simply watch the man walk around the room. Watched as he shuffled through trinkets and parchments; eventually his gaze fell upon a shape haphazardly covered with furs and cloth. Aaravos let his eyes follow as Viren walked boldly toward the shape and threw off the coverings; it was Thunder's egg.

Aaravos' eyes widened in surprise; slowly, a wicked grin spread across his face.

"...Dragons are _incredibly_ idiotic." he said; he glanced at Viren. 

Viren was wearing a dark smirk of his own; he picked up the egg. Aaravos hummed his approval.

"I've never used a dragon's egg for spells before." he said, "There are unlimited possibilities...but maybe it shouldn't be used for magic at all--Thunder's line isn't worth the honor, don't you think?"--Aaravos stepped forward; he tapped a finger against his chin in mock-consideration--"Perhaps it would be better to make a nice scramble from it instead, hm? Or do you prefer poached?"

Viren gently placed the egg on the ground; he placed his staff beside him and slipped the satchel off his shoulder and opened it; he shifted around the contents inside, then he picked up the egg; gingerly, he placed the egg inside the bag and closed it; he hoisted the satchel back onto his shoulder. He grabbed the staff and got up; he began to look around again.

"Over here." Aaravos breathed, "Look over here."

As Viren's gaze fell upon the mirror. Aaravos grinned; he looked at Viren through hooded eyes. He hooked a finger toward the man, beckoning.

"Come." he purred.

Viren strode over to the mirror; his eyes shifted from the frame to the feet to the surface to the frame again; he reached out a hand and placed it against the glass. Aaravos did likewise; he bent down to peer into the man's eyes.

 "You and I will leave a trail of blood in our wake." he murmured, "All of Xadia will know our names. Elves and dragons alike with fall before us. They will beg us for mercy...but we won't give it to them will we, darling?"

Viren was examining the embroidered runes on the mirror frame now, tracing his fingers lightly over the carvings. He furrowed his eyebrows in contemplation. Then he spun around, startled. 

"What is it?" Aaravos asked.

Frantically, Viren reached into a pocket on his bag and took out a jar containing a Xadian butterfly. He wedged the jar into the crook of his arm and unscrewed the lid, dropping it into the satchel pocket. The butterfly flittered lazily out of the jar. Viren snatched it from the air and brought it to his lips. He sucked out the butterfly's essence and his dark form faded away; his black eyes became gray, his veined gray skin became pale and unblemished. He drained the butterfly empty and left only a dried husk. He tossed the body over his shoulder and stuffed the empty jar back into the bag; he turned to face the entrance. 

Aaravos blinked; his eyebrows raised high in surprise.

"Why did you do that?" he asked, "What are you hiding from?"

Another shadow passed over the floor; Aaravos turned his attention away from Viren and toward the entryway.

Harrow appeared in the entrance. 

"Ah...I see." Aaravos said, "I suppose it can't be helped. Dark magic _has_  become...well, frowned upon in the last millennia."--he glanced down at Viren--"You won't have to hide from me, though."

Harrow glanced around; he walked to Viren. Viren nodded in acknowledgment and folded his arms behind his back; he stood proud. Harrow mouthed something unheard. Viren must have said something he didn't like because his expression twisted into a look of horror. He grabbed Viren by the shoulders and shouted at him, eyes wide with fear. Viren deflated; he put a hand on Harrow's shoulder comfortingly. Harrow pulled away; he put his face in his hand and shook his head.

Aaravos tilted his head in confusion. He turned to Viren.

Viren stepped toward Harrow; he reached out a hand to comfort him, but he only let it linger in the air; slowly, he brought his fingers to his palm and lowered his hand to his side; the two stood in silence.

After a beat, Harrow turned back to Viren; he glanced past him at the mirror; his mouth moved. Viren nodded; he turned and walked back to mirror with Harrow following after him. They each took a side and land it flat on its back. Then they bent down and lifted it from the ground. Aaravos grinned and his eyes widened in excitement. He pressed his hands and face against the glass and watched as they moved from Thunder's lair down the corridor; He memorized every rock and crevice. He drank it all in--each new sight was appreciated with the utmost vigor. When they finally stepped outside, he nearly wept for joy. His eyes devoured the stars, the clouds, the luscious moon. 

"One day all of Xadia will look like this." he whispered, overcome with awe, "Dark, tranquil, and beautiful."

Aaravos continued to stare up at the sky; he didn't want to look away. He stared even as Harrow and Viren stopped moving, even as the mirror was bound tight to a cart, even as the cart lurched forward and began to bounce along. He just couldn't look away.

He couldn't let go of that glorious sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We can now add "suggesting to turn Zym into an over-easy" into the long, looooooong list of the Aaravos' bullshit. Fucking sparkle-bastard.
> 
> Thought I'd put this chapter up early--rl may start to get hectic again soon and I at least wanted this part posted


	10. A Scorpion in the Making

The trip to Katolis was a long one--taking at least two weeks in total--but Aaravos didn't mind, on the contrary he actually felt quite giddy. It had been a long time since he wasn't neck-deep in some scheme or the other, and even longer since he had seen--actually _seen_ \--anything other than Thunder's lair. Now he could see the sun; he could see birds flying through the sea of blue sky; snowfall on leafless trees. It gave him a sense of relief that he had almost forgotten. He felt hope.

When they did finally enter Katolis, Aaravos was awed by the bustling and going's on of the people. He watched with eager eyes as they bought bread, chatted to each other, lived their lives. He wondered if his students or Elarion had any descendants amongst them.

Aaravos pushed the thought down into the pit of his heart. He had no time for sentimentality.

They passed under an archway and the cart slowed to a stop. A pair of soldiers undid the ropes binding the mirror; they lifted it from the cart and walked forward. They passed through a pair of doors into a parlor; the mirror was turned right side up and set upon the floor. Aaravos pressed his face to the glass and looked around excitedly.

The parlor was lovely, with carpeted floors and ornate windows; decorations of glass and precious metals hung throughout. Soldiers and servants scurried about carrying some odd thing or the other. Aaravos noted with great delight that many seemed to be carrying dragon parts.

" _One day you'll be all but forgotten_." Aaravos said, stepping away from the glass, "Isn't that what you threatened me with, Thunder? How the Fates have turned!"

Harrow stepped in front of the mirror; he looked it up and down. Aaravos smiled down at him.

"Congratulations on your victory, Harrow." He said, "I hope your vengeance tastes as sweet as mine."

Harrow pressed a curved finger to his mouth; his eyebrows knitted together in consideration. Viren came to his side; he looked at him, lips moving silently. Harrow said something in return and walked away. Viren watched him go with sad eyes; he sighed. He turned and got the attention of a soldier--he pointed to the mirror, then extended his arm to the side. The soldier nodded. She got on one side of the mirror and Viren got on the other; they lifted it from the ground and carried it down the hall.

Aaravos pressed his face to the glass again; his eyes darted to and fro, taking everything in.

They walked through a crowd of more servants and soldiers; they passed by grand staircases and dining rooms and servants' quarters. They came upon a pair of doors and put the mirror down. 

"Is this your room, darling?" Aaravos asked, "Show it to me."

Viren pushed the doors open; he went back to his side of the mirror and helped the solider lift it; they carried it inside. Aaravos glanced around. There were various books and magical apparatus, some empty and half empty vials, to the side there was a table and chair.

"Ah. Your study then." Aaravos said, "Pick a good spot for me. I want to be able to see everything." 

Viren and the soldier carried the mirror to the far wall and stopped; Viren looked to the soldier; he pointed to the ceiling and drew a circle. The soldier nodded in response. They turned around until the mirror was facing the doorway, then they set the mirror down on its feet. Viren came into view in front of the mirror; he gripped both sides and pushed it back into a little nook. He turned and gave the soldier a nod; she returned the action and left the room, closing the door behind her. Viren turned back to the mirror. Aaravos smiled down at him.

"What are you going to try first, I wonder." he mused

Viren stepped away; he went to the table and laid his staff against it; he took off his satchel and set it atop the table and pulled out the egg.

"Oh, I'd almost forgotten!" Aaravos exclaimed, "Well darling what are you waiting for? See what it can do! Crack it open and use the contents for potions! Grind the shell into a magic powder! Go on, have fun!"

Viren set the egg on the table and stared at it, considering. Aaravos watched him in anticipation, chattering in excitement.

"Potions, powders, salves, gods there's so much potential! Perhaps you should drop it into a pond and make a healing spring! Or perhaps you can use it as a power source for other spells--it _is_ a Sky Dragon's egg after all, it should make a marvelous conductor!" he prattled on, "Personally, I would make a potion first. They tend to be simpler than-- _there's someone at the door_!"

The doorknob jiggled a little; Viren spun around; the doorknob turned and a hand tipped with black nails gripped the door, a young lady peered inside.

Viren smiled and opened his arms to her; she swung the door opened and barreled into the room; she threw her arms around him and nuzzled into his shoulder, a few locks of her raven hair fell over her face.

"By the gods...is that  _Claudia_?!" Aaravos gasped, "How she's grown!"

Viren wrapped his arms around his daughter and stroked her hair comfortingly. Claudia hugged him tighter. They held onto each other for some time. It wasn't until Viren began to pull away that Claudia let go.

Viren smiled and put a hand on her shoulder; he gestured to the egg on the table. Claudia's eyes widened and she looked behind him at the egg; she clapped her hands in excitement. She began to dash to and fro gathering vials and equipment. Viren frowned; he spoke to her, his lips moving soundlessly. Claudia froze mid-step; she held multiple items in her arms; so many that it forced her to lean back most uncomfortably. She tilted her head in confusion. She questioned him. Viren looked down at the floor and ran his hand through his hair. His shoulders fell slightly as he answered her.

Claudia looked disappointed, slowly she began to put back the items she had gathered. When finished, she came back to her father's side; They both turned and looked at the egg, eyes hard and serious.

"What's wrong?" Aaravos asked.

Viren said something and Claudia nodded in agreement. Viren walked to the side and opened a wall. Aaravos' brows lifted in surprise.

"A hidden passage?  _Someone_ has secrets." He said; a grin spread across his face, "Not that I mind of course--on the contrary I think it's very astute. It's always best to keep a few cards under the table in my experience--you never know who you can trust in this world."

Aaravos' grin turned into a knowing smirk.

"...Harrow doesn't know about the egg, does he?" he murmured, "And you're not going to tell him. You know he would disapprove of whatever dark spells you plan to use it for, regardless of how they would help Katolis."

Aaravos watched as Viren came back to the table to retrieve the egg; he stepped forward and pressed a hand to the glass.

"So you go against your king," he continued, "risking your position at best and your life at worst...but you know in your heart that what you do is what's best for the kingdom, perhaps even all of humanity."--Aaravos stepped back and looked Viren up and down; his smile was fond-- "How lovely--you really are a man after my own heart darling."

Viren shifted the egg in his arms until he was cradling it. He looked at Claudia and smiled; he mouthed something and jutted his head towards Aaravos' mirror. Claudia beamed; she dashed around gathering magical ingredients and apparatuses again. Viren smiled fondly at her and walked back to the secret passage; he descended into the gloom and the entryway closed behind him. Aaravos smiled after him, then he turned his attention to Claudia.

"Well Claudia," He said, "It's just you and me now. Let's see what you can do."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Claudia failed to break Thunder's curse, but Aaravos was impressed by her prowess regardless. She was an exceptional mage for her age; a true prodigy. She knew a plethora of spells and incantations. But most importantly she knew her limits. If an incantation didn't work for her she would simply go to the next one; if a particular spell was out of her range of skill she would leave it until she had acquired more practice. She was confident in her skills; she knew there was no need to push herself to the point of self-sabotage. 

 

...Her father, Aaravos came to realize, was another case entirely. 

 

Viren was always pushing himself beyond his means. Whenever an incantation didn't work for him he would try it again using more ingredients, more power. If a spell was beyond his expertise, he would perform it anyway. He would perform it again and again until he got it right--and he suffered dearly for it. Aaravos had lost count of the times he had seen Viren writhing in agony before the mirror, the times he had collapsed on the floor from exhaustion...It would be impressive if it wasn't so concerning.

 

One of the worst cases though had occurred a few weeks after their arrival in Katolis; it was the time Viren made his first real attempt to unlock the mirror.

 

Viren had come into the study with his arms full of books, vials, and other items. He laid each item carefully on the table and began to shift through them. He took a jar full of some sort of Xadian creature's blood and spread it over his eye lids, dragged it down his cheeks with his fingertips; he held his hands palms up, almost like in prayer, and muttered an incantation. The blood on his face and hands began to glow and he grimaced from pain. When he opened his eyes, his irises were completely red. He looked at the mirror eagerly. 

"Can you see me?" Aaravos had asked, just as eager; he waved his hand in front of Viren's face.

Viren glared at the mirror; he applied more blood to his eyes and hands. He repeated the incantation. The glow was brighter, more intense--and apparently more painful as Viren's mouth stretched open in a scream of agony. It still didn't work.

Viren repeated the spell again and again; he repeated it until all the blood in the jar was gone. Each attempt had been more and more excruciating for him; his last try had brought him to his hands and knees, with his whole body shaking in pain; he looked up at the mirror with desperate eyes. Aaravos knelt down in front of him.

"...Can you see me?" he asked again.

Viren scowled; he slammed a fist hard against the floor; his own blood dripped from his knuckles and mixed with the dark stains of the Xadian creature's. He got to his feet unsteadily. He went to the table and picked up a cloth and wiped the blood from his face and hands. Turning his head, he glowered at the mirror, jaw set in determination. After discarding the cloth, he left the room.

Aaravos had stared after him, the weight of his own disappointment dark and heavy in his chest. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

It had been three months since their arrival; Viren had tried a total of eight different spells and still hadn't made any progress in unlocking the mirror. In that time, Aaravos had been able to gather quite a bit of information about the goings-on of the world.

 

By watching Viren's interactions with Harrow and Claudia, Aaravos had found out that Thunder's queen still lived. She wanted revenge for her slain husband and child and  would be sending forces to attack Katolis soon. The kingdom was woefully unprepared for this. The only card they had to play was the egg, hence why Viren hadn't wanted it destroyed--it gave him something to barter with in exchange for the kingdom's safety. Very practical in Aaravos' opinion.

Aaravos had also discovered that there were five human kingdoms in total; Katolis, Duren, Evenere, Del Bar, and Neolandia. Each kingdom had its individual strengths...but they also had weaknesses. To say that humanity had thrived in them was a grave misrepresentation. There had been famines, plagues, and violent bloodshed. The art of primal magic had been all but forgotten and dark magic was on the edge of loss as well. The kings and queens of the land--even Harrow to Aaravos' disappointment--were content to allow humanity to remain stagnant. They were uninterested in going against Xadia. To them keeping their own people safe was more important than destroying the root of the problem and ending the oppression Xadia had forced upon them. It was disappointing.

But despite his disappointment, Aaravos couldn't say he was surprised. Thunder had been terrorizing humanity for well over a thousand years; having broken, terrified leaders was inevitable. 

 

No. What surprised him was that  _Viren_ wasn't doing more.

 

Aaravos had always assumed that Viren would do whatever it took to achieve the best possible future for humanity. And it was true in a sense; Viren was perfectly willing to make sacrifices for that goal. He'd lie and manipulate whoever he thought necessary; he'd tear his own body and mind apart if he believed it was for the greater good. His desire to lift humanity up as well as his hatred for Xadia were both all encompassing things; they were immense to the point of being incalculable. The seed Thunder had planted in him had bloomed marvelously.

 

But now the flower was wilting. Viren was losing the drive that had empowered him. He was teetering the line between light and dark with the potential to choose either side.  

 

Aaravos smirked. The irony of this situation was not lost on him.

 

Here was a man at a crossroads. One who had a wish to bring humanity forward, but whose attempts in doing so had yielded little progress. One who had tried the 'right way' and had been constantly denied. A man who still held tightly to his dream of humanity's betterment and had grown increasingly desperate in his attempts to reach that goal. He had grown so desperate that he had killed for it, had lied for it, was willing to go against his king for it...It was a story Aaravos had sketched into his heart. The two of them really were one and the same.

 

Seeing some of his own life reflected in Viren's was still a bit jarring, however. For so long Aaravos had thought that Viren already resided in the darkness; that he was waiting for him there...It never occurred to him that _he_ would be the one waiting. Never in his wildest dreams did he consider the possibility that he would find Viren walking the same narrow path he had once walked, balancing on the same thin thread of Fate--it felt strange.

 

But Aaravos didn't dislike the turn of events; on the contrary, it provided him with the opportunity to do for Viren what Viren had once done for him. Guide him, inspire him, _entrance_ him.

 

Aaravos walked into the center of his library; he pressed his fingers together and meditated.

 

One by one, he shifted through the possible futures. He weaved together a map of all the available paths to take and began to narrow them down; he snipped through the undesirable paths, such as those that led to death or pain. He cut and knitted and trimmed through the threads of Fate until the possible trails were fewer--and he left those remaining alone.

 

Satisfied with his work, Aaravos turned and walked to the bookcase; he took a few books from the shelves and strode to the table and sat down to read.

 

It was all up to Viren now; it was his choice to make. And Aaravos _wanted_ him to choose. The gift of choice was one of life's most sacred things--there was power in choosing one's path...it also tasted all the sweeter when one was _chosen._

 

Aaravos smiled softly. He flipped a page.

 

He didn't want to bind Viren to his fate like he'd done with countless elves, didn't want him to stumble and fall into it. No. He wanted Viren to look into the abyss and meet his eyes. He wanted him to see all that Aaravos could give him and, with his head held high, come into the darkness of his own volition. He wanted Viren to _choose_ him.

 

Aaravos closed the book; he moved on to the next one and began to read anew.

 

 

"You're a scorpion in the making, my dear." he murmured, "All you have to do is accept it.."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which Aaravos decides to let Fate run its course for once and I try to be all poetic and shit. XD
> 
> Hope ya'll like this chapter; I'm hoping to get into the actual Viren-Aaravos interactions soon--fingers crossed!


	11. The Spider Waits

Aaravos lessened his time observing Viren in the mirror. He reasoned that if he wanted Viren to choose his own path he would have to distance himself a bit lest he be tempted to interfere with Viren's choices...It would also serve to soften the pain if Viren didn't wind up choosing him.

Of course, that didn't mean Aaravos didn't check in from time to time. Occasionally he would look to see how Viren was faring. He also used his powers of divination to keep an eye on him.

But he never lingered long, didn't push or pull any important threads; while he did send a spell or two Viren's way occasionally, they were only ever to help him take better care of himself--to encourage him to take breaks, to get him to eat and sleep. For the most part Aaravos merely watched. He observed quietly, gathered what information was useful to him, then took to his books and his journals and waited. He knew that Viren would make his choice soon enough; he needn't rush himself for the answer. If orchestrating a millennia long assassination plot had taught him anything it was the value of patience.

And Aaravos was certainly patient; he was patient to an exceptional degree; he would wait regardless of how long it took for Viren to decide. 

 

He would wait.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

****

Aaravos was in bed, staring at the far wall of his room; he was thinking.

More weeks had passed; the Dragon Queen had just sent a team of moonshadow assassins to kill Harrow and his youngest child, Ezran. They would be in Katolis by the month's end and still the kingdom was unprepared.

It wasn't through lack of knowledge; Harrow had known that assassins were coming for weeks. Nor was it from some reckless courage; Harrow knew his strengths and he knew that they wouldn't be enough against the elves. No, the kingdom was unprepared because its king was in pain. Harrow was tired from years of battle and loss; he was weighed down with guilt and self-hatred and grief. Aaravos sympathized. After the loss of Elarion and his students, he himself had spent quite a few years wallowing in his emotions. He understood Harrow's regret and grief; he understood the desire for the earth to sink its claws into you, drag you into its jaws, and swallow you whole.

Aaravos rose from his bed; he stretched and got to his feet.

Like Viren, Aaravos had allowed Harrow the opportunity to choose his path, and like Viren there were multiple paths that he could take--he could choose to put his own pain aside and prepare for the assassins, he could realize that Xadia was humanity's eternal enemy and go to war, he could give in to the throes of grief and let the assassins take him, and so on. The possibilities were limitless.

Aaravos strode into the living room; he sat down at his desk and took a journal from the drawer. 

Whatever choice Harrow made, Aaravos hoped he would consider how it would affect the rest of humanity, the number of lives that could be saved or lost depending on what he chose. And if he didn't, Aaravos hoped that at least Viren would. He hoped that, should Harrow fail to rise to the occasion, Viren would do whatever was necessary to insure humanity's survival, regardless of the cost.

Aaravos flicked through the journal until he came upon a blank page; he found a pen and began to write down his thoughts.

 

"We've fought too hard and sacrificed too much to let the Xadians win this war, darling." Aaravos murmured, "Do what you must for the benefit of all mankind."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The assassins were a week away from Katolis and Viren had been relentless in his quest to find a way to stop them. He had read text after text, tried spell after spell. He hadn't eaten or slept properly in days. And now here he was again; in his study, pouring over yet another large tome.

"You should sleep." Aaravos said as he weaved spell components together, "You won't feel well if you don't rest."

Viren propped an elbow onto the table and placed his head in his hand; he tapped a finger against the table and continued his reading. Aaravos sighed and shook his head softly.

"Stubborn man. What am I going to do with you?" he mused; he glanced down at his finished spell and smiled, "Perhaps this will help."

Aaravos stepped closer to the mirror and pressed the spell to the glass; it merged into the mirror with a ripple and appeared on the other side as a soft, nearly invisible wisp; Aaravos watched it curl toward Viren like fog, watched it wrap around the man's shoulders and melt into his clothes. 

The result was almost instantaneous; Viren began to blink slowly; he shook his head woozily and rubbed his thumb and forefinger against his eyes. 

"That's right." Aaravos cooed, "Just relax."

Viren leaned back into his chair and ran a hand over his face. He shook his head again. Aaravos chuckled.

"Come now don't be difficult." He said, "You have an important task before you and you will need to have a clear mind. Get some rest, sweetheart."

Viren's lips parted in a sigh; his chin fell onto his chest; he blinked a few more times before his eyes finally slid closed. 

"That's better." Aaravos said; he stepped away from the mirror and observed his handiwork.

Viren was fast asleep now; his chest rose and fell gently as he breathed; an arm dangled softly over the chair's rail. Aaravos smiled tenderly.

"...You're standing at the precipice my dear." he murmured, "Soon you will have to make a choice; one that will dictate your future for years to come."

Aaravos stepped forward; he reached out a hand and pressed his fingertips onto the mirror's surface.

 

"Choose wisely."

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

 

"I knew you'd make the right decision." Aaravos murmured.

 

He was in his library, watching the mirror. The scene on Viren's side had changed. It was no longer Viren's study, but a dark dungeon; Viren himself was before him, with his back turned. He was interrogating a prisoner, but not just any prisoner Aaravos noted, grinning from ear to ear--it was one of the moonshadow assassins.

The elf was in poor shape--he was underweight, his face was bruised, a piece of his left horn was missing, and his arm, still bound by an assassin band, was blackened from the bicep to the wrist; he was suffering greatly.

"Be thankful it’s him and not myself, moonshadow." Aaravos said, smiling wickedly, "Your pain would have been far worse."

He turned his attention Viren.

"You're still too gentle, darling." he purred, "This elf attacked your home, you needn't show him so much kindness. But don't worry."--he smirked; he placed a finger on the glass over Viren's silhouette and dragged it down--"I'll teach you to be cruel."

Viren snarled at the moonshadow; the elf glared at him, then turned his gaze to the mirror.

The moonshadow acknowledged the mirror with hard eyes; his gaze shifted from the glass to the frame, then back again. His eyebrows went up slightly and a glint of fear came into his eyes. Aaravos grinned.

"Oh, have you heard of me, little Xadian?" he cooed, tilting his head, "Have you heard the stories of the spider that would bind you tight in his web? Of the forked-tongued serpent that would steal your soul away? Hm? Are you afraid, little one?"--he stepped closer; his grin widened and his eyes narrowed into cat-like slits--" _You should be_."

Viren growled at the moonshadow, the elf turned his gaze back to him and snapped something in response. Viren bared his teeth and walked over to the side of the room; he picked up his staff.

"Speaking of stealing one's soul." Aaravos said, turning his attention back to Viren, "Don't hold anything back darling."

Viren flipped the staff into its elongated position; he began repeating an incantation. The moonshadow's defiant eyes widened in terror; his eyes and body began to glow as he was enveloped in a thick, white smoke. His mouth stretched into a horrified scream.

Aaravos pressed his hands against the mirror; his eyes took in the scene with all the awe and eagerness of bearing witness to something incredible, something meant to be savored. 

The elf's body faded into the smoke; the smoke gathered itself near the jewel of the staff, then it solidified into a small round coin; Viren caught it in midair and held it up to his eyes. He smirked; he put the staff aside and, with his arms folded behind his back and his eyes aglow with magic, left the room. Aaravos watched him go, feeling utterly charmed.

"Revenge is such a sweet dish, isn't it?" he murmured, "But what's a dish compared to a banquet, Viren? What's one elf's screams compared to the screams of thousands?"--he stepped away from the mirror and clasped his hands in front of his abdomen; he smirked--"You're almost there darling...Come join me in the dark."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SORRY RUNAAN!!!! 
> 
> I'M 👏 SO 👏 FUCKING 👏 SORRY👏
> 
> Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter 😊


	12. The Scorpion Arrives

Finally.

 

 _Finally_ **.**

 

After all of the waiting, all of the plotting and manipulation, his beloved had come to him at last.

 

Viren stood before the mirror with his arms behind his back; he regarded Aaravos suspiciously, his gray eyes narrowed slightly. Aaravos met his gaze with a knowing smirk; he could just see the determination behind the suspicion, the curiosity stirring in the depths, the _fire_ that burned within those eyes.

Aaravos felt his heart swell. Those lovely eyes. They had been at the forefront of his mind since he was young, had haunted his dreams for over a thousand years. To have them so close was thrilling; to have them regard him--even with suspicion--was intoxicating.

The two continued to look at each other. Time ticked by as they held each other's gaze, both unwilling to back down, refusing to let the other go.

After a time, Viren sighed, his shoulders rose and fell heavily. Words formed on his lips, but he was still voiceless. Aaravos was unbothered, he had just the spell to fix the problem; it would require a bit of pain for them both, but the result would be well worth it.

Giving Viren a reassuring smile, Aaravos turned and began to walk to the exit. Just as he was passing through the doorway, he glanced back at the mirror and caught a quick glimpse of Viren gripping desperately at its edges; he smiled. 

 

"Have patience my pet." he purred, stepping into the hallway, "I won't be long."

 

Aaravos went around his lair collecting all the items he would need; a bit of cloth, a goblet, a geode, a needle and some thread, a mortar and pestle, a knife. When he was finished, he found a box and placed them all inside, then he returned to the library. Viren was waiting for him, a look of annoyance on his face. Aaravos gave him an apologetic smile; he came forward and placed the box on a little table near the mirror; he adjusted the table until it was in front of him, then he looked at Viren.

Viren regarded the box with a look of intrigue; he turned his gaze to Aaravos, eyes questioning. Aaravos smiled and opened the box; he took out the objects one by one, holding each up for Viren to see. When he had shown all of the items, he spread his arms over the array and waited for Viren's response.

Viren gazed at the items and gripped his chin in contemplation; he said something; then he looked at Aaravos and gave him a small nod. Aaravos smirked, his eyelids dipped low, leaving only coy slits. Viren scowled at the look; he said something more, then turned and left the room.

Aaravos watched him go,feeling restless. He hoped Viren wouldn't take too long.

Aaravos stepped away from the table; he went to his books and picked out one to read.

Regardless of how long he took, Aaravos knew Viren would come back to him, knew he'd bring the items for the spell. Viren had made his choice. He hadn't recoiled from the darkness, hadn't run away in fear; he had stepped forward into the abyss and embraced it. He had tended the black rose of his heart preciously and his hatred had flourished. Like a wolf amongst sheep there was nothing he desired more than Xadian blood--to see it before him in pools, feel it splatter against his skin, _taste_ it on his lips and tongue...Aaravos couldn't be more pleased.

Leaning his shoulder against the bookshelf, Aaravos began to flick through the pages of his book, smiling softly.

 

"Return to me soon, darling."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Viren returned under an hour's time. He carried with him a tray containing all that Aaravos had shown him; he laid the tray onto a table then turned to Aaravos. Aaravos gave him a soft nod then took up the cloth and the needle and thread and began to sew. Viren looked at him uncertainly; slowly, he took up his own cloth and thread and followed along. 

After a moment or so Aaravos had finished on his end and held up his work for Viren to see; Viren did likewise, his cloth bearing the same looping rune as Aaravos'. Viren furrowed his brows in confusion; his mouth moved. Aaravos smiled; he couldn't wait to hear the man's voice.

Aaravos released his cloth; it hung weightless before him, allowing his hands to be free. With deft fingers, he drew the same rune in the space before him; he snatched it from the air, then opened his palm to the mirror and allowed the spell to spread from his hand; it covered the  mirror for a moment then dissipated into nothing; its twin on Viren's side glowed. Viren eyed the glimmering cloth suspiciously. Aaravos gave him a soft smile. He moved on to the next step.

Holding Viren's gaze, Aaravos called the geode to him; with a bit of magic, he had it brought under the hanging cloth; the cloth twisted around the geode then snapped back and fell from the air; the geode was split in two; Aaravos took a half in each hand. He waited for Viren to follow. 

Viren turned to his table; he laid his cloth over his geode and, taking the pestle, struck it; he removed the cloth, revealing two perfect halves; he took one half into his hand and turned back to Aaravos.

Aaravos placed one geode half onto to the table; he took up his own pestle and ground into the center of the geode he still held; he poured its dust into the goblet until it steamed with magic; he glanced at Viren. Viren regarded him with a touch of apprehension. Hesitantly, he poured the dust of his geode half into his own goblet. Aaravos smiled; he lifted his goblet high into the air, toasting the occasion.

 

_To the destruction of Xadia my darling_

 

Viren glanced at his own fuming drink and quirked an eyebrow; he scowled at Aaravos and uttered some sort of protest. Aaravos gave him a playful smirk; he brought the goblet to his mouth and, closing his eyes, downed the drink. He showed the empty glass to Viren. Viren grimaced in response; he considered the smoking liquid in his own glass; reluctantly, he placed the goblet to his lips and began to drink.

Aaravos watched the movement of the man's throat as he drank; he longed for the day he would be allowed to explore the softness of Viren's neck, trail his fingers over it, press his lips against it. 

Viren finished and set his glass on the table, drawing Aaravos back to the present. Aaravos grinned; there was only one step left. Aaravos picked up the knife and laid it to his hand. Apprehension returned to Viren's eyes; slowly, he took up his own knife and laid it to his palm. Aaravos felt his excitement grow. Soon they would be able to hear each other. Aaravos pressed the knife to his skin; he looked at Viren. Viren's eyes were downcast, focused on his hand; he spread his fingers to allow the knife greater access to his palm; he began to press the knife to his skin...

He paused, he turned his eyes up to look at Aaravos; glared at him from under his brows. His asked some sort of question. Aaravos smiled encouragingly; he moved closer and raised his hand and the knife to the mirror; his own outstretched fingers just touching its glass.

 

_Complete the spell, Viren. We're almost there._

 

Viren sighed; he muttered something more then stabbed his knife into the table. He grabbed his staff and left the room. Aaravos watched him go, feeling a touch of disappointment. They had been so close...

Aaravos sighed and put his knife down; he went to his books and picked out a few to read. 

He supposed he shouldn't be so disheartened; he had known that Viren wouldn't trust him right away, that it would take time to earn the man's affections...but they had been so _close_. A moment more and the spell would have been completed and they would have been able to talk to each other.

Aaravos went to his chair and sat down; he shuffled through his books.

He wanted to speak to Viren so badly; wanted to hear his voice, to  _truly_ hear it. He had waited so long...

Aaravos chose a small book of poetry to read first; he flipped through the pages until he reached his favorite section.

No matter...Viren would come back, Aaravos was sure of it. He would come back and they would complete the spell. They would talk.

 

"I look forward to speaking with you." Aaravos murmured.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Aaravos didn't know how long he had stared at the mirror, now black and empty; didn't know how long he held the knife against his hand, wearing an expression of shock.

 

...Viren had refused to complete the spell. 

 

He had come in like a man with a purpose, gave Aaravos a dark glare, and threw a large cloth over the mirror, barring all further contact. Aaravos hadn't seen it coming--in either sense of the word.

 

And now Aaravos was alone...perhaps he'd be alone forever...

 

"...No..." Aaravos murmured, "...No... _come back_!"

Aaravos dropped the knife to the table; he grabbed the mirror's frame in both hands.

"Viren, come back!" he shouted, " _Come back to me_!"

 Aaravos released the mirror; he scrambled to the middle of the room and pressed his fingers together; he Saw.

 

_A world covered in night; the stars and the moon gently glowing in the sky. Black eyes regarding him with softness as he traced his fingertips against dark veins._

 

Aaravos breathed a sigh of relief; the vision was still strong, that meant there was still hope. Oh, thank the _gods_. 

Aaravos took another deep breath; he ran a hand over his face and through his hair.

Viren just needed some time. He'd come around. Aaravos just had to be patient.

Aaravos left the library. He walked to his living room and sat down at the desk. He took out a journal and began to write.

 

"Take all the time you need, Viren." he said, "I can wait."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Aaravos read his books to pass the time; he wrote in his journals; he checked the mirror to see if there was any change on the other side. For two days this was Aaravos' routine and for two days there was no change.

 

 On the third day, however, Viren returned.

 

Aaravos had just entered the library when he noticed the mirror was no longer dark; Viren was standing at the other side, giving Aaravos a determined look; he plucked the knife from the table and placed it to his palm. Aaravos smirked; he walked to the mirror and took up his own knife, he put it to his hand. He looked at Viren and gave him a soft smile.

 

_...Why don't you go first, Viren? Show me that you want this._

 

Viren frowned; furrowing his eyebrows, he sliced into his palm without hesitation. Aaravos grinned and cut into his own hand. Their blood spilled into the bowls they had before them; smoke poured out like clouds. Viren blinked in surprise. Aaravos chuckled; he leaned in closer to the mirror.

 

_I have a gift for you...look..._

 

Aaravos opened his mouth and lifted his tongue; a small caterpillar slithered out. Aaravos offered his finger for the creature to crawl on. Viren's eyes widened; he stared at Aaravos with a look of horrified disgust. Aaravos tilted his head and quirked an eyebrow.

 

_Come now, it's no different than your practice of draining life from butterflies, Viren._

 

Aaravos placed his finger in the bowl and allowed the worm to be immersed in his blood. The worm disappeared from his side of the mirror in a swirl of red and purple. Aaravos looked to Viren, a mischievous smirk on his face.

Viren looked down at his own bowl, brows furrowing. Gingerly, he dipped his fingers into the bowl; when he lifted them out, the caterpillar was wrapped around his index finger; it shimmied over his hand and scurried up his arm; it continued until it came to Viren's ear and wrapped itself around the shell. Viren flinched in disgust. Aaravos smiled in amusement.

"Is it really so bad, Viren?" he chuckled.

Viren gasped and spun around; he looked this way and that, eyes wide with fear.

"Don't be frightened." Aaravos soothed, "I mean you no harm."

Aaravos placed a hand on the glass.

" _Speak_ to me." he murmured, "I want to hear you."

Viren spun back to face Aaravos.

"...How...How do you know my name?" he stammered, "...Who...who exactly _are_ you?"

Aaravos turned his head to the ceiling; he closed his eyes and released a blissful sigh.

"How long I've waited to hear the sound of a human voice." he said; he lowered his head and looked at Viren through hooded eyes; he smiled sweetly.

 

"My name is Aaravos...and I've waited a very long time to meet you, Viren."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The long-awaited meeting has come! *blows a kazoo*


	13. A Long-Awaited Conversation

" _How do you know me?_ "

 

Viren bit out the words like poison, his gray eyes meeting Aaravos' in a defiant glare, challenging even. All indications of fear had vanished; he stood before Aaravos now with countenance of a wolf; proud, ferocious, untamable.

Aaravos smiled. _How_ _lovely_.

" _Well_?" Viren huffed impatiently, "You wanted me to talk with you. Let's talk, then.  _Answer my question_."

"It's a complicated matter." Aaravos murmured, "It would take me ages to fully explain." 

"Make an attempt." Viren growled, "Or I'll make you suffer in ways you couldn't imagine."

Aaravos smirked; he laid a limp wrist against the mirror and leaned down until he and Viren were eye-level.

"So  _serious_." he crooned, "Do you always act this way when meeting someone?"

"Only if I don't know their intent." Viren replied, "And I most certainly don't know yours _elf_."

It was Aaravos' turn to glower; he pulled himself to his full height and looked down at Viren through narrowed eyes.

"My name is Aaravos." he said, coolly, "And you will refer to me as such. Never call me 'elf'; I refuse to be linked with those  _disgusting_ creatures."

Viren lifted an eyebrow.

"Oh?" he said, "You have bad blood with your kind?"

"They are _not_ my kind!" Aaravos snapped, "They haven't been ~my kind~ for centuries! Do _not_ compare me to them, Viren,  _e_ _ver_. I'd rather be associated with the vilest, most abysmal thing that crawls the earth than with _elves._ "

Viren blinked at the outburst; he turned his head and gave Aaravos a sideways look, his expression a mix of suspicion and intrigue. Then his gaze flickered to the frame of the mirror.

"Apparently they aren't especially fond of you either." he muttered; he gave a contemplative hum and turned his eyes back to Aaravos, "Just what did you _do_ I wonder?"

Aaravos' grin returned.

"What makes you think _I_ did something?" he said, "Surely you know that Xadians don't need a reason to be cruel. Or have things changed so drastically in the time I've been imprisoned that Xadians no longer terrorize humans?"

"Don't play games with me, ~Aaravos~." Viren spat, "You're in this mirror for a reason. The dragon king kept you close for a reason. Tell me what that reason _is_. Give me that if nothing else."

Aaravos tilted his head; he gave Viren a coy smirk.

"It's simple." he purred, "I gave power to the powerless and the Xadians didn't approve. The dragon king labeled me a traitor and had me caught and thrown here."

Viren looked past him at the library.

"And where is _here_ , exactly?" he asked.

"I...don't know." Aaravos admitted.

"Don't _lie_ to me." Viren snapped, brows pushing down into a scowl.

"I'm not lying." Aaravos replied; he hooded his eyes and leaned closer, "And I'd certainly never lie to _you_ , Viren."

"I seriously doubt that." Viren huffed.

"Believe whatever you'd like." Aaravos murmured; he straightened himself and folded his arms behind his back, "It doesn't change the truth."

"The _truth_?" Viren asked, tone clipped, "The truth is whatever one makes it. History teaches us as much. The victors are the ones who write the books, not the conquered. Would a slave tell the same story as a general? What about a fallen king? What 'truth' would he describe?"--he narrowed his eyes--"And _you..._ a prisoner so formidable as to be guarded by the dragon king himself...what 'truth' would you tell if it meant freedom?"

Viren stalked to the mirror, glaring into Aaravos' eyes. Aaravos stood his ground; he met Viren's glower with a broad grin.

"Just who do you think you're dealing with," Viren growled; a low, lethal sound, "to speak to me of 'truth' like it's an absolute. We both know better. I may not know you the way you know me but I've gathered that much about you."

Aaravos hummed; he unfolded one arm from his back and placed his hand on the table before him.

"Is that so?" he purred, "Perhaps you should get to know me better then, hm?"-- he lifted his hand from the table and held it to Viren, palm open and inviting, "Uncover my secrets?"

Viren's lips spread into a sly smirk that mirrored Aaravos' own.

"Oh I plan to." he replied, lightly, "But on _my_ terms."

With a tip of the head and a smile, Viren stepped away from the mirror. He walked over to his table and picked up an empty jar.

"What are you going to do?" Aaravos asked.

Viren laughed; he turned his head and shot Aaravos a roguish grin.

"You seem clever enough." he stated, " _Figure it out_."

With a low chuckle, Viren plucked the caterpillar from his ear and dropped it into the jar. He gave Aaravos one last gloating smirk and left the room. 

 

Aaravos stared after him, his eyes were soft slits and the corners of his mouth curved up in a sultry smile. 

"By all means, Viren," he purred, "go hunt for answers...but you won't find them in your study."

He stepped away from the mirror.

"Books can't bring every solution, my darling." he murmured; he chuckled, " _Creative_ or otherwise."

Smiling softly, Aaravos stared at the faint shine of his reflection against the dark background of Viren's dungeon; from his angle, it almost looked like he was actually standing in the room, like he could just reach out and stroke the shackles that had held the moonshadow or take a step to the side and bump into the table.

Aaravos moved slightly to the left; his reflection was now standing by the door; he lifted a hand and his reflection followed suit; his hand hung just over the door handle. It made him lightheaded, the thought of freedom. Aaravos let himself imagine how it would feel to grasp the door handle and feel the coolness of metal against his skin; how it would sound to hear the creak of hinges as he pulled the door open and stepped out into the world beyond the room. He considered what he would see as he explored the halls and passages of the castle, all the art and portraits, statues and suits of armor. He thought of how he'd find Viren. In his study or perhaps the library, buried amongst a pile of books and scrolls; he'd be flipping through pages hungrily, hoping to find the vaguest mention of Aaravos in the text. Aaravos closed his eyes. He dreamed of how he would greet the mage; how he'd slip his hands over his shoulders and gently pull him away from his books; how he'd place his fingertips to the man's lips to silence his protests-- _you're safe with me_ he'd reassure. Then he'd take Viren's hands in his own and lead him back into the darkness where they both belonged; they would be alone and Viren would ask his questions anew. Aaravos would smile and chuckle; slowly he'd wrap his arms about the man and pull him close. He'd whisper his secrets to him. One in particular would be addressed.

" _I love you_." Aaravos murmured; he wrapped his arms about himself and pretended he was holding Viren, "I love you. I love you."

Aaravos stood for a time, hugging himself and dreaming. How he longed for the day when his dreams would be reality.

"But until then." Aaravos opened his eyes; he unwrapped his arms from his body and steepled his fingers before him; he smirked, "Let's let our scorpion do things his way, see where it takes him."

Aaravos left the room with a smirk; he went to his living room and walked over to his desk; he took out some of his previous journals and flicked through the pages; he read passages describing the budding kingdom of Katolis, spells he discovered, Selene and Elarion and all of his students. He reminisced.

"Soon I will be free." he hummed, "I will be free and I'll finish what we began."

He flipped a page and began to read another passage.

 

"Humanity will have justice, Selene...I promise."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GOD I want to get to the part where Aaravos is out of the mirror--there's only so many ways to write expressive looks and gestures when you have an object in the way and I can't keep using some rendition of "he placed a hand on the glass" every time 😤
> 
> Anyway, I'm starting a second job soon so I might not be able to update as often as once a week; sorry about that, everybody. 😔
> 
> P.S. Did anyone catch the little nod to chapter 5 at the end?...No? Yes? Maybe? 😁


	14. Another Brief Interlude: Viren has a Terrifying Realization

_He was in over his head._

 

Viren gazed upon the endless pages of black before him, a sense of cold dread filling his heart. It wasn't often that he felt like this. Uncertain, bewildered, and at a complete loss on what to do. There was nothing he could think of that would solve the problem. He couldn't research it and there were no spells he could try; it was beyond anything he had ever dealt with before. 

Viren stepped away from the array of books; he ran a hand down his face.

 

_Just what had he gotten himself into?_

 

He shook the thought from his head. With a scowl, he dropped his hand to his side; he began to pace.

The elf was involved with this that much was obvious. Somehow he had found a way to limit what Viren could learn about him; there must have been something in the texts that he didn't want known.

Viren grit his teeth.

That meant the elf could tell whatever story he wanted, could tailor information however he saw fit, and there would be no means for Viren to verify it. The elf could--figuratively and literally--control what he saw and perhaps more. It was an unsettling thought.

 

Viren stopped pacing; he looked at his bandaged hand. 

 

...Just how much power did this elf, this ~Aaravos~, have over him? The possibilities were terrifying.

 

Viren brought his hand into a tight fist; he turned his eyes back to the hexed books.

 

He was in over his head. There was no denying it. He was in over his head and he had been since the beginning.

 

Viren stepped toward the assortment of books and slowly began to gather them up. He went around the library and replaced them one by one.

 

He wasn't going to just give up, of course. He had worked too hard to just walk away. He'd uncover something about the elf in the mirror even if it cost him his life.

 

When he was finished in the library, he made his way to his study. As he walked the weight of just how much he didn't know about his strange new acquaintance came upon him.

 

He didn't know what the texts had said said about the elf, didn't know how he had erased them, didn't know why the dragon king had guarded him so closely, didn't know what he had done that so frightened the moonshadow, didn't know how he _knew his name_. All Viren knew was that the elf was powerful, dangerous, and could kill him and everyone he loved if he wasn't careful.

 

Viren reached his study and went inside; he locked the door behind him. He turned and looked over at the bookcase that led to the dungeon.

 

He had to be careful; he could never let his guard down, never let the elf see weakness. If he was lucky he would have enough time to find out something useful, something that would help protect Katolis and all of humanity.

 

Viren took a deep breath. He set his face into a look of determination; he stomped over to the dungeon entrance and opened it. He went down the stairs and tried to ignore his building dread as he made his way back to the room with the mirror.  

 

_...He was in over his head._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I managed to scrounge up this for the week; it's not much but here it is. Perspective change because I thought it would be cool to get Viren's take on things; see how he's handling his new situation. 😁😁
> 
> But don't worry ya'll, we'll be back to our regularly scheduled Aaravos pining in the next chapter! 😁😁😁


	15. Allow me to Earn Your Trust

Aaravos was back in the library when Viren returned. He stood in front of the mirror with his fingers steepled before him and the corners of his lips hooked in a smile.

 

Viren came in wrapped in a storm. Aaravos could practically feel the thunder in the man as he threw open the door and powered into the room; his eyes held lightening as he met Aaravos' gaze. Aaravos gave him a smirk. He flicked his ear and pointed to the caterpillar in the jar. Viren turned and glared at the specimen; rolling his eyes, he stomped over to the table and grabbed the jar. He undid the lid and snatched up the worm; he placed it on his ear.

"What did you do?" he demanded, flinching as the caterpillar took hold.

"How thoughtful of you to ask." Aaravos stated, sweetly, "Let's see, I read a bit in my books, I wrote a passage in my newest journal, I--." 

Viren slammed a hand on the table.

"Don't you dare mock me!" he snapped, "Tell me how you erased yourself from the books. _Now_. Or I swear to the gods I will find a way into that mirror, _drag_ you out by your hair, and _cut up your body for spell ingredients_!"

Aaravos quirked an eyebrow.

"Is that a threat, Viren?" he murmured.

"It's a _promise_." Viren replied.

Aaravos smiled slyly; with a wave of his hand his table of spell items was transported to the other side of the library. He snapped his fingers and his chair was summoned.

"I suppose I have no choice then." he said, sitting down; he gestured to Viren's chair, "Come have seat and we'll talk."

"I'm comfortable standing." Viren said, coldly, "Tell me what you did to the books."

"Suit yourself." Aaravos said, propping an elbow up on his chair's arm; he laid his cheek against his knuckles,  "I didn't do anything to your books Viren. It's part of the punishment Thunder chose for me."

"You mean for when you and I quote 'gave power to the powerless?'" The mage stated; he narrowed his eyes, "Why don't you just come out and say it? You were involved with _humans_."

Aaravos grinned.

"Clever man." he purred, "Yes, I was involved with humans. I aided them in their fight against Xadia. 

" _Why_?" Viren demanded, "Why would you help?"

"...Let's just say a particularly fascinating human caught my eye." Aaravos said, "He inspired me."

"And who was he?" Viren asked. Aaravos smirked.

"A story for another time." he said, "Regardless, I was punished dearly for my advocacy. Thunder erased my good deeds from human history. He trapped me in this awful half-world prison so he could watch me languish and despair as humanity forgot all about me." 

Viren scowled; he leaned to the side and looked behind Aaravos; he took in the finery of the library; the decorative plants and fungi; the rows and rows of books.

"Quite luxurious for a prison." he stated; he looked up at Aaravos, glaring from beneath his brows,  "One would almost think you were there for indulgence rather than punishment."

"Not everything is what it seems Viren." Aaravos murmured.

"Isn't it?" The mage countered; he straightened himself and folded his arms over his chest.

"Why should I trust you?" He growled, "I have no means of verifying anything you say. Do you think I'm so naive that I'd just take your word? Until you give me a reason I refuse believe a single thing you tell me."

Aaravos hummed; he plucked a few strands of hair from his head.

"What are you doing?" Viren asked.

"Watch and see." Aaravos replied; he wove the strands between his fingers and around his thumb.

 

"Semalf tilrats," he said, "krad ot thgil." 

 

The hair turned dark and began to smoke. It became a black flame in his hand. He glanced at Viren. The man's expression was a mix of surprise and intrigue. 

"...You know dark magic." he said quietly.

"I do." Aaravos confirmed, "I know it intimately."--he leaned back in his chair; he put his face in his hand--"Do I have your trust now, Viren?"

Viren regained his composure; he glared suspiciously at Aaravos.

"No." he said, "It will take more than that to win my trust."

Aaravos hummed again; he allowed the flame to dissipate in his hand.

"Then allow me to prove myself to you." he said; he gave the mage a soft smile, "Tell me what you need, Viren. I will help you."

"I need information." Viren said, gruffly, "Information I can actually verify. Obviously you can't help me with that."

"No." Aaravos admitted, "But perhaps I can give you something else."

"And what would that be?" Viren asked, his hard tone holding a touch of intrigue. Aaravos smiled.

"Oh, there's much I have to offer." he purred, "Do you desire vengeance against those who have wronged you? I could make them suffer in ways scarcely imagined. Do you require more spell ingredients? I can send you numerous magical creatures to take apart, and if any are elves or dragons it would be my upmost pleasure. I can provide you with knowledge beyond your wildest imaginings and power beyond any known measure."

Aaravos smirked; he leaned forward and dipped his voice low, his tone was soft and enticing.

"What is that you want most, Viren?" he whispered, "Hm? Tell it to me and I will give it to you."

Viren glowered at him, then he cast his eyes down, contemplating.

"Allow me to earn your trust, Viren." Aaravos pressed, his tone soothing, "Tell me what you'd like."

Viren continued to stare at the floor.

"I..." he began.

"Yes?" Aaravos prompted.

"I'm...having a problem getting some people to listen to me." the man continued, "To hear the importance of what I'm saying."

Aaravos smiled broadly.

"Who are these people?" he asked.

"They are kings and queens," Viren replied with a sigh, "the leaders of the other human kingdoms."

Viren sighed again; he went to his chair and sat down. Hedraped his arms heavily over the chair's rests and lowered his head. He looked exhausted.

Aaravos regarded the man with softness, his eyes brimming with gentleness and tender affection. He wanted so badly to offer the mage relief from his pain and fears, to give him refuge in his embrace...But that time was not here. Not yet.

"We will just have to get their attention then." Aaravos stated after a moment.

"How?" Viren asked; he sounded so tired, "I've tried speaking with them; I tried explaining things as thoroughly as I could. They won't listen to me."

"We will _make_ them listen." Aaravos said, his tone a touch hard.

Viren lifted his head. 

"What exactly are you suggesting?" he asked.

"I'm suggesting that we try less conventional ways of pushing them into action." Aaravos explained, " Desperate times call for desperate measures, Viren. You've already tried winning them over the right way and they ignored you."--Aaravos frowned; his face took on a serious countenance--"If they can't be swayed with reason, then perhaps terror will spur them."

Viren watched him impassively. Aaravos continued.

"Those who fail tests of love are simple animals, Viren." he said quietly,  "They _deserve_ to be motivated by fear."

Viren watched him for a moment longer; then a spark appeared in his eyes, a glint of determination.

"Yes." he agreed, "They do."

Aaravos' frown was replaced by a broad grin.

"Then you know what you have to do." He murmured, "Strike terror into their hearts, Viren. _Force_ them to act."

Aaravos rose from his seat. Viren followed suit; he regarded Aaravos with hard eyes that held the slightest touch of fascination. 

"I think I have something for such a task." he said; he began to move to leave the room, but he paused midway; slowly, he turned his head and gave Aaravos a dark scowl.

"This doesn't mean I trust you." he growled; he furrowed his brows and gave Aaravos a shrewd look,--"I know you're keeping things from me, don't think I don't."--his eyes bore into Aaravos' like daggers--"And I plan to find out _exactly_ what you're hiding, mark my words."

Aaravos smirked; he allowed a low, rumbling chuckle to fill his chest and throat.

 

"Of course." he purred, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know that feeling when you do things the 'right way' and you wind up being screwed over anyway? Aaravos knows that feeling.
> 
> He. Hates. It.
> 
> Anyway hope y'all enjoy. 😁😁


	16. A Dark Spell, A Capture, and the Consequences of Hasty Decisions

The spell Viren had chosen was _beautiful_. He could have made a dragon out of fire and brimstone to frighten the rulers. He could have summoned a burrowing sand-worm to terrorize their citizens. He could have done anything. But this? This was poetry.

Aaravos plucked a flower from one of his exotic plants and twirled it between his fingers; an affectionate and admiring smile played along his lips. 

Using the ashes of the moonshadow assassins. It was such a deliciously dark thing--and quite suitable considering who was the caster. Leave it to Viren to come up with a spell that served as both a retribution to the elves that attacked Katolis and a reminder to the human rulers of the ruthlessness of Xadians.

Aaravos brought the bloom to his face; he closed his eyes and imagined he detected the scent of lilac. He gave a satisfied little hum.

He was very pleased with his mage's thinking. Of course, the idea of elves suffering always filled his heart with delight, but to have _these_ particular elves suffer in _this_ particular way--it brought him more joy than he could describe. The only real tragedy was that humans would be harmed in the process. 

Aaravos frowned; he placed his flower on the table and sighed.

It was unfortunate that things had come to this, but there was no choice. He didn't take pleasure in terrorizing the human rulers, but they needed to be made to understand. The Xadians couldn't be reasoned with, couldn't be appealed to. They were merciless, arrogant, hypocritical beasts and would stop at nothing until they had crushed humanity to dust. The moonshadows were only a small sample of the horror Xadia could bring and they weren't even the worst thing. Aaravos had received visions of sunfires attacking soldiers at the border, of dragons raining down fire and death upon towns and villages, of elven mages and spies integrating into the human societies and wreaking havoc.

Aaravos scowled; he balled his hands into fists. They just couldn't leave well enough alone, could they? He should have known. Xadians had always lusted after human suffering, it had been only a matter of time before they would travel to the west-lands to quench their blood-thirst; his magma border wasn't even a pebble in their path and he should have _known_ that. He should have guessed that they would find some way to justify violating the border, come up with some excuse for themselves, even if it was as ridiculous as "protecting magical landmarks from human greed." 

Aaravos grit his teeth.  _Disgusting creatures._  He should have killed more of them when he had the chance.

There was the sound of porcelain clicking and cloth shifting and Aaravos was drawn from his thoughts.

"Have you finished the spell already, Viren?" he asked.

"Yes." Viren replied, "It's done."

"Good." Aaravos said, then added with a twinge of disappointment, "I wish I could have seen it performed--it's not every day I get to see filthy elves receive their just rewards."

"You really hate elves that much?" Viren asked.

"I do." Aaravos stated, "Dragons, too. I hate them all."

"Hmm...am I right to assume some of it is personal?" Viren questioned; Aaravos heard the tap of the staff as he got up, "And not due to your involvement with humans?"

"It's interesting for you to assume it's either-or," Aaravos said, "If anything my involvement with humans is what _made_ it personal for me."--he paused; then his tone became quiet and melancholic--"I know what humanity has suffered at the hands of Xadians, Viren. I've seen it with my own eyes. You all deserve so much better."

"Hm." Was Viren's simple reply.

There was silence after that; the only noise was the tap of the staff as Viren walked.

"I haven't met any... _beings..._ like you that speak of elves and humans the way you do." Viren said after a time, "Your mysterious human lover must have been quite spectacular."

Aaravos gave a rumbling chuckle but said nothing.

"What's so funny?" Viren asked in annoyance, "Was I wrong to assume you had a relationship with this man?"

"Our relationship...well, let's just say it's a complicated subject." Aaravos stated, "That's all I can tell you."

"That's all you _will_ tell me, you mean." Viren accused.

"Yes." Aaravos admitted with a touch of craft, "But not out of maliciousness, I assure you."

"Oh yes, because your assurance means _so_ _much_ to me." Viren snipped back.

There was another silence; a bit longer this time. Then Viren spoke; he was quieter, but his tone still held some vexation.

 **"** I find it strange that _this_ is what you choose to be secretive about." he said, "It's not like it's serious information. I doubt it's even the greatest of your secrets; what is it about your relationship with this man that you refuse speak of him?"

"As I said--it's complicated." Aaravos replied, "I wouldn't even know where to begin."--his crinkled his eyes and his tone took on an air of mischief--"Further, I'm not sure we've progressed far enough in our relationship to talk about such things, wouldn't you agree?"

That earned an annoyed huff from Viren.

"Need I remind you that when we first met you addressed me _by my name_  and said that you had been waiting to meet me." the mage stated, "You _know_ me, you've made that clear. So if you think our ~relationship~ hasn't progressed enough to speak about an old flame of yours it's because you believe that I would react poorly to the information."

There was the sound of a lock being clicked into place.

"Tell me, what is it about your past with this man do you think would drive me away?" Viren asked, tone heated, "Did you betray him? Is that it? Did you grow bored of him and cast him aside like an old plaything? Or did you perhaps simply kill him when he was no longer useful to you?"

"Such harsh judgements." Aaravos murmured, "What have I done to make you think me so heartless?"

"What have you done?! You have the gall to ask that?!" Viren snapped, "I don't _know_ what you've done. That's the point!  _I don't know anything about you!_ "--there was venom in his words; if a voice could hold poison Aaravos would be dead three times over--"And all the things I _do_ know hold very troubling implications, so _forgive me_ if I remain skeptical of you and your motives."

"My only goal at the moment is help you." Aaravos said, "I wish to earn your trust, Viren. And perhaps in time, your friendship."

 Viren snorted.

"I doubt we will ever become true friends." he stated, gruffly; there was the sound of metal creaking and then the light fluttering of wings, "And for someone who so desires to win my trust, you certainly have held on to your secrets."--he sighed in exasperation--"You seem hellbent on vexing me at every turn. Our ~relationship~ if that's what you want to call it, is terribly one-sided and imbalanced."

"It won't always be this way." Aaravos said, "I'll tell you everything you wish to know in time. But right now we have more pressing matters to attend to."

"Such as?" Viren asked, impatiently, "I've completed the spell. There is nothing left to do but to wait." 

"And the Council?" Aaravos asked, "Are you not going to confront them for charging you with treason?"

" _How do you know about_ \--ugh, never mind." There was the clink of metal as Viren laid down his staff, "The Council are meek lap dogs, they hold no real threat. I'll deal with them later. "

"Even lap dogs can bite." Aaravos countered, "And you may no longer have a choice in when you deal with them."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Viren asked.

"They're coming for you." Aaravos stated, "The priestess and a group of soldiers are almost here."

Aaravos heard the hitch of Viren's breath.

"...I hear them, they're just down the hall. How did--? _Never mind_."--the fluttering sound vanished, there was the sound of metal creaking again, then clicking into place; Aaravos heard Viren snatch up the staff and ready it for battle--"I'll deal with them myself."

"No." Aaravos murmured, "No, I will help you. Let me help you, Viren."

There was banging on the door.

"Lord Viren! Open up, by order of the High Council!"

" _Fine_." Viren bit out, "But you better not get in my way."

"I won't." Aaravos said, grinning, "Trust me."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Sharing an arcanum with him, feeling that slight connection of their souls, it was more than Aaravos had dreamed of. They were so close, almost entwined; if he wished it, Aaravos could just reach out and touch the man's heart, feel all it had to offer; every heartbreak, every joy, every vengeance would be laid bare before him. But Viren hadn't offered such an intimacy and if Aaravos wanted the man's affection, he would have to wait until he did. Those were the rules of the game. You couldn't take what you wanted given. 

They worked well together, like a well-oiled machine. The soldiers fell before them like lambs to slaughter--it was a tragedy to have to harm so many humans, but it was necessary. The Xadians wouldn't show mercy when they came, they wouldn't discriminate between young or old; the loss of a few human lives now would prevent the loss of thousands of lives later. 

Aaravos heard Viren fall to his knees; the man growled in pain.

"Surrender Viren."

Aaravos frowned. The priestess. He had hoped he could have helped Viren escape before encountering her. Her presence meant that any choice they made would result in Viren being seriously injured, or worse, killed. Aaravos couldn't risk that.

"Stop." Aaravos said softly, "It's over."

"But I can destroy them all!" Viren protested; then he added in an angry hiss, "If you're not going to help me, then get out of my way!"

"You're completely surrounded Viren." the priestess stated, coolly, "Give yourself up...Don't make me give the order."

Viren growled; Aaravos heard him start to get to his feet.

"STOP!" he roared; he withdrew the power of the arcanum, "STOP  _NOW!_ "

Viren gasped, surprised at the sudden loss of their connection. There was the metallic clamor of the staff as it fell from his hands. Aaravos heard soldiers rush forward to seize him.

"You've been charged with treason." The priestess bit out, "And now with _murder_. You'll be lucky if you still have your life by the end of this, Viren--Take him away."

There was the sound of footsteps. Viren grunted as he was pushed along.

" _You_." the man growled, "You have  _betrayed_ me."

"No, I haven't." Aaravos whispered, "Calm yourself. This is just a minor inconvenience, I promise you. It won't last long nor will it interfere with your plans. Just trust me."

"I was a fool to trust you." Viren hissed, "I won't make that mistake again. _Get out_."

" _No_." Aaravos hissed back, "I won't abandon you."

 

Aaravos went to the mirror. With lithe hands, he drew a moon rune. Then he put his wrist to his mouth and bit down hard. He dipped a finger into his blood, and traced over the rune.

"Hturt eht edih. rats and noom." 

The spell shimmered before him; he dragged his fingers through it then he twisted them toward the mirror. Magic curled from his fingertips and slithered onto the glass; the mirror glowed slightly, then the glow faded into the glass. It reappeared on the other side of the mirror. It spread until the view of Viren's dungeon was clouded over by soft glowing light; after a time, the glow subsided, leaving only a blue film. His side of the mirror was now hidden from prying eyes.

 

" _I shall stay with you_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now we see a glimpse of how the pragmatic asshole and the lovestruck dumbass work together! *throws confetti* god bless The Dragon Prince!😁😁
> 
> Sorry for the long wait folks, but jesus christ was this a hard chapter to write! Hopefully the next chapter won't take so long, but I can't make any promises--sorry about that 😔😔😔


	17. Imprisonment and the Art of Rebuilding Trust

The secret passage was discovered shortly after Viren's capture. As the soldiers poked around, Aaravos' mirror was found and confiscated--the priestess had it moved to her personal ritual room for safe keepings. Viren's study was locked and barred; no one could enter without permission from the priestess or another member of the Council. Viren himself was thrown into the deepest, darkest dungeon in the castle and shackled in a solitary cell. Aaravos had tried to comfort him, but his attempts were always met with heated jabs or worse, cold silence. It wasn't until half a week after the arrest that Aaravos managed to carve a bit of a conversation out of Viren.

 

Aaravos was sitting at the table in his library; he had a large cloth strewn over his lap and some sewing supplies at his side. He pulled a needle and thread in and out of the cloth as he sewed a circle of primal runes.

"This trial will be over soon." He soothed, "Don't despair."

"Go to hell, Aaravos." Was the furious reply. Aaravos sighed.

"Viren, I know I disappointed you." he said, "You have every right to be angry with me, but pushing me away will solve nothing. I can still help you." 

" _I don't want your help_!" Viren snarled, "I don't want any more to do with you! Get out! Get out _now_!"

Aaravos sighed again; he pulled his needle through the curve of a earth rune; then he pulled the thread taunt and began sewing the form of a moon rune.

"I told you before that I'm not leaving you." he said, "That decision remains unchanged. Give me the chance to redeem myself to you." 

Viren roared in rage; there was the rattle of chains as he pulled against them.

"If you don't leave me, I'll kill you!" he shouted, "Do you hear me?! I'll kill you! I'll rip out your eyes and use them for a seeing spell! I'll drink your blood! I'll tear your heart from your chest and roast it on a spit! I'll make you suffer for as long as possible! _Get_! _Out_!"

Aaravos said nothing. He remained silent and impassive; he continued his sewing as he waited patiently for Viren to come down from his anger.

"I hate you." Viren said; his temper subsided, he was quiet and morose, " _Gods_ , I hate you...but I hate myself more for having been fool enough to listen to you in the first place."--he sighed; there was a soft thump as his head connected with the wall--"I deserve this. I knew you couldn't be trusted and yet I allowed myself to be vulnerable to you. Now I've been imprisoned and the kingdom is at risk--as is all of humanity."--he sighed again--"I should have broken that mirror when I had the chance."

 "...Viren." Aaravos said gently; taking care to choose his words carefully, "I don't mind that you hate me gods know I've earned it, but please don't be so hard on yourself. There's nothing wrong with reaching out for help when you need it."--he finished his sewing and laid his creation on the table--"And it's not like you hadn't tried other options. Did you not reach out to the Council only to have them berate you?"--he positioned his hands over the circle of runes; he spread his fingers wide--"And the Pentarchy, you said yourself that you tried explaining things to them only for them to ignore you."

Aaravos pressed his fingers to his thumbs like he was grabbing thread; he pulled his hands upward and a shining after-image of the rune-circle came up them.

"This is war." he murmured, "The Xadians have tormented humans for millennia and they won't stop. Trying to appease them is pointless and foolish. We need to be proactive."

"Oh, it's still _we_ is it?" Viren barked, "Grown attached to your puppet, have you?" 

"It's always been we, Viren." Aaravos replied; he opened his hands and the rune-circle burst apart into glittering particles, "And I care more for you than you know."

The particles floated in the air, then they began to piece themselves together again. Once together, they formed a shifting, sand-like image of Viren in his current state. Aaravos walked over to the figure and knelt in before of it.

"Wha--what is this?" Viren asked; his sand-double's eyes going wide in surprise, "How are you here?"

"Don't be afraid, it's just a sight spell." Aaravos replied; he gave the sand figure a small smile," Now you can see me as well as hear me."

"Why would I want to see you?" Viren snapped, "I've made it very clear that I want nothing more to do with you or your false promises." 

"And I asked you for the opportunity to redeem myself." Aaravos said; he wrapped his hands around the chains holding the sand-Viren's wrists, "I'm going to give you the greatest gift I have to offer."

The shackles fell away; the magic double frowned; he lowered his arms and rubbed feeling back into this wrists.

"This does nothing for me." Viren said, "I still have to get out of this cell and navigate a way out of the castle."--the false Viren bared his teeth--"What are you _really_ planning Aaravos?"

Aaravos grinned.

"I'm going to teach you primal magic." he stated, "I'll teach you everything I know."

Viren rolled his eyes.

"Oh _spare_ me." he huffed, "Everyone knows humans can't do primal magic. Only creatures born with an arcanum can."

"And yet you can use common insects for spells." Aaravos countered, "You can use deer, birds, even banthers."

Viren furrowed his brows; he glared at Aaravos with suspicion, but made no attempt to counter him. Aaravos smirked; he moved toward the man.

"It's terribly convenient, don't you think?" he murmured, "That humans would be the exception to rule. It would give the Xadians quite an excuse to place themselves about humanity, wouldn't it?"

Viren said nothing; he turned his glare to the floor, contemplating. Aaravos inched closer.

"Why do you think Xadians refuse to let humans even try to learn primal magic, Viren?" he breathed, "If it's so impossible for humans to learn why would they care if a few learned about the arcanum?"

"...Limited knowledge." Viren whispered, "If a group doesn't know their own potential they are easier to control."

Aaravos smiled.

"Exactly." he replied.

Viren scowled; he continued to stare at the floor. After a beat he turned his head up and gave Aaravos a look of determination.

"What do I have to lose?" he said, "Go ahead and teach me what you know."

Aaravos grinned from ear to ear.

"There's a good man." he said; he got up and brushed himself off, "Which primal would you like to practice first?"

"Does it matter?" Viren said, "I imagine it will be a difficult road no matter what I choose."

"Perhaps." Aaravos replied, "But since when do you care about how hard your path is?"--he offered Viren his hand--"Come. Let's begin."

Viren stared at Aaravos' hand for a moment; hesitantly, he took it.

"...You feel like sand." he stated.

"An unfortunate repercussion of the sight spell." Aaravos said, "Don't worry, I won't always feel this way."

He led Viren to a corner of the cell, out of sight of the door; with a wave of his hand he created an illusion of Viren still in his chains. Viren lifted an eyebrow.

"That's interesting." he said; he glanced at Aaravos, "Moon magic, I presume."

"Of course." Aaravos replied; he smiled, "And moon magic will be our first lesson. Here, let me show you how it's done."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have I mentioned that Aaravos knows exactly how to handle Viren's antics? It's not even remotely fair. 😂😂


	18. A Lesson and A Reunion

Viren looked at the empty chains with hard eyes and furrowed brows; he lifted a hand and stretched out his fingers.

"That's it." Aaravos murmured, "Now, think of all the faces of the world. Imagine all the branches that can describe our reality and how they contradict."

"All the possible truths." Viren said, "The world is not made of one 'true' and one 'false'; they come in shades."--he brought his thumb, ring finger, and pinky to his palm, leaving only his middle and index fingers pointed at the chains--"Everything is dimensional; we all have multiple sides--one is both the genuine and the deception."

"Yes." Aaravos said; Viren could hear the smirk in his voice, "Yes, that's right."

"In order to create an illusion you have to first show a version of the truth." Viren looped his fingers into the full curve of a moon rune; it glowed faintly before slithering to the empty chains and solidifying into a form of himself occupying them,  "And the truth is that I was chained in this cell."

" _Yes_."  Aaravos all but purred; he wrapped his hands over Viren's shoulders, "You're a natural."

"Must you keep doing that?" Viren huffed, shaking free of the elf's grip; he brushed off the glittering dust that was left on his coat and gave the other a pointed glare, "I understand that you're wanting for physical contact but the constant clinging has gotten annoying."

"My apologies." Aaravos said, not sounding the least bit sorry, "I've been alone for too long I suppose."

"Yes, well, at least _try_ to control yourself." Viren snipped, "Time is of the essence and there's still so much to do. We need to keep our focus."

" _We_ , Viren?" Aaravos said, sounding obnoxiously pleased, "Have you finally come to trust me?"

"I trust you enough not to back-stab me while I might still be of use to you." Viren stated, "Nothing beyond that."

" _Yet_." Aaravos added. The smugness in his tone made Viren roll his eyes.

"Can we just change the topic?" The mage said, exasperated; he turned his attention back to the illusion.

 "...I still can't believe it's  _true_." he murmured, "All this time humans could do primal magic and we never knew it."

"Don't blame yourself." Aaravos soothed, "It's the Xadians who are at fault. They're the ones who refused to allow humans to reach their true potential."--Aaravos' semi-physical form shifted slightly as he stepped closer; he gave Viren a warm smile--"but we can fix it, you and I. We can raise humanity to greatness and bring all of Xadia to it's knees."

"Oh yes, we'll just skip over the border and conquer the entire nation." Viren stated, sarcastically, "Two imprisoned felons are more than enough to topple an eons-old empire, I'm sure."

"You undervalue the power we wield together." Aaravos said; he smirked, "You also underestimate the spirit of your fellow humans. The rulers may have needed a push to set them in the right direction, but the average human has far more gumption. If we reveal the truth of what Xadia has done then they will come. We'll have an army the likes of which the elves and dragons have only heard of in stories."

Aaravos glanced toward the door. He smiled.

"...Speaking of spirited humans, you may want to move a bit further from the door." he said.

"What do you mean?--"

"--Lord Viren, you have visitors."

Viren jumped to the side and pressed himself against the wall. He craned his neck to watch the doorway.

"Aaravos, you need to go." he whispered, urgently, "I have to--" but when he looked back, Aaravos was already gone.

Viren sighed; he'd never get used to the elf's hijinks. He turned his attention back to the door.

"Who are they?" he asked.

"Your children." The guard replied.

Viren froze; his heart beat against his chest. He hadn't seen his children since he had sent them off to retrieve Thunder's egg and dispose of the princes. That had been well over a month ago and before he had been arrested for treason and murder. How were they going to react seeing him like this?

He swallowed thickly. He side-eyed his illusion and muttered a moon incantation to make it look more convincing. He also did a quick spell to hide the dark magic scars that covered his body.

"Lord Viren? Is something wrong?" The guard asked, "Should I tell your children to come back some other time?"

" _NO_!" Viren shouted; he flinched at his tone. Now was not a good time to lose his wits; he sighed and added in a quieter tone, "...No...let them in."

"Very well." There was footsteps as the guard left.

Viren dashed to the other side of the cell, where the door would be able to hide him once it was pushed opened. He listened for the guards return.

It took a minute or so, but sure enough, Viren heard the guard clanking along. Viren took a deep breath. This...wasn't going to be a pleasant reunion.

The guard stopped at the door, there was the rattling of keys. Viren pressed himself as close to the wall as he could and waited.

When the door was pushed open, Claudia came in first. She had sad eyes and a deep frown and there was a white streak in her hair--a sign of overusing dark magic. Viren's eyes widened.

"...Easy now, lad." The guard murmured, "Don't push yourself too hard."

Viren darted his eyes back to the door. Soren came in limping; he was covered in cuts and bruises and was bandaged from head to toe. He hung his head low, refusing to look at the illusion chained to the wall. Viren felt the color drain from his face. 

"I can only give you two hours." The guard said, "Nothing more than that."

"Okay." Claudia said, "...Can we please be alone with our dad now?"

"...Alright." The guard said, "I'll be down the hall. Shout if you need me."

The door was shut and locked; the guard's footsteps faded into nothing. Then there was silence.

The silence felt like it lasted for ages. No one did anything; no one said anything. But what could be said? What could be done? Viren didn't know. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't breathe. He tried to think, but his mind was riddled with questions and concerns. What should he do? Should he reveal himself and try to comfort his children? Should he send them away? Should he tell them the truth about Xadia or allow them to be ignorant so they wouldn't have to be involved? 

Claudia stepped toward the illusion and Viren was taken out of his thoughts. 

"...Dad?"

There was fear in her voice; there was _pain_ in it. It was such an awful, heart-wrenching sound; it made something in Viren break. He waved his hand and the illusion disappeared. He dashed forward and pulled both of his children into a hug.

"What happened?" he asked, quietly.

The two regarded him with shock and confusion; Soren's mouth fell open and he blinked owlishly, like Viren had grown a pair of horns and a third eye. Claudia looked from the empty chains to him, then back again. 

"Two dads?!" she exclaimed; she began to babble, "No wait, the other one poofed. But then, was that the real one? Maybe this one is a--"

Viren released her from the hug and clamped a hand over her mouth.

" _Not so loud or the guard will hear_!" he hissed, " _Show some restraint, Claudia_!"

Claudia blinked. Viren gave her a softer, but nonetheless firm look.

"...I'm going to let you go," he said, "but keep your voice down."

Claudia nodded that she understood; Viren removed his hand.

"...Are you my dad?" She asked, "Like, my real-real dad?"

Viren sighed.

"Yes, Claudia." he said, "I am your father."

Claudia narrowed her eyes.

"My _real-real_ dad?" she emphasized.

Viren rolled his eyes toward the ceiling.

" _Yes_." he said, "I'm your 'real' 'real' dad."

"...But how do I know for sure?" Claudia asked, "You could be an illusion-dad or an elf disguised as dad or--"

"Ask me something only your father would know." Viren suggested.

Claudia paused; she pursed her lips together.

"...What was the name of the hero that dad used to read me and Soren stories about?"

"Hero _ine_ , Claudia." Viren corrected, "And her name was Ofelia." 

Claudia visibly relaxed. She began to babble again.

"It _is_ you!" she exclaimed, "What _happened_?! Everybody is saying that you're a traitor and you--"

" _Claudia_." Viren said, firmly, " _Keep your voice down_."

Claudia blinked.

"...Oh...right." She said; she coughed lightly, then she cleared her throat; she pitched her voice to a just above a whisper, "Is this better?"

"Much." Viren replied; he reached out his arm to offer her a return to the hug, "Now please, tell me what--"

Claudia barreled to him and flung her arms around him; she buried her face into his shoulder.

"...What happened, dad?" she asked again; her voice was quieter, more morose.

Viren didn't respond; he adjusted his hold on his children and led them to a corner of the cell.

"Sit here." he said, lowering them both to the floor, "I'll heal you both as you tell me what happened to the two of you...then I'll tell you what happened to me."

"But I already healed Soren as best I could and--" Claudia began.

"You know arguing will get you nowhere, Claudia." Viren interrupted; he turned to Soren, "Where does it hurt the most?"

Soren didn't say anything; he was still staring at Viren, slack-jawed and wide-eyed.

" _Soren_." Viren said with an impatient sigh, "Tell me where it hurts."

"...My...my leg." Soren stammered, "Near the knee."

Viren laid his hands on the area. He began murmuring enchantments. Soren made a small noise of pain. Viren's eyes softened.

"It's alright, son." he murmured, "It's alright."--he turned his eyes to Claudia; his expression serious--" _Explain_ this Claudia."

"Uh...Well, we found the princes and the egg."--she furrowed her brows--"Soren told me you told him to _kill them_."--

"And Claudia told _me_ that you said to save the egg over me if we got in trouble!" Soren blurted out suddenly.

"Why would you do that?!" Claudia exclaimed.

"What's gotten into you dad?!" Soren shouted.

Viren covered both their mouths; he darted his eyes to the door. There was no sound of footsteps. he took a breath, then turned his gaze back to his children.

"I told you I'll explain my side after you explain yours." he said, "So tell me your side."--he removed his hands from their mouths--"What happened for you two to wind up like this?"

Soren and Claudia shared a look, then Soren hung his head and Claudia looked at the floor. Viren narrowed his eyes.

"What happened? Tell me." he said, firmly.

Claudia hunched her shoulders; she began fidgeting with her fingers. 

"Well..." she began, "Well, the egg hatched and they're a cute baby dragon now."

"...What?" 

"And Callum introduced us to his moonshadow elf assassin-friend, Rayla, and he showed me the Moon Nexus and all these elf ruins and I met a moonshadow elf mage."

" _What_?"

"And then the princes escaped with the baby dragon and the Rayla-elf on a moon phoenix and Soren and me went to rest at nearby a town, but a dragon had been flying over the town for a few days and people were scared"--

"Claudia hold on, what's this about a dragon--?"

"So Soren and me shot it at and it got mad and started burning the town so we shot at it again and hit it and it fell"--

"You two brought down a _dragon_?!"

 _"_ Then we tied it up all nice and neat and we were going to cut it up to bring it home, but the Rayla-elf appeared and wouldn't let us near it and Ezran showed up with the baby dragon and Callum did some dark magic and got rid of all our chains--"

"Since when does Callum know dark magic?!"

"But since it was his first time doing dark magic, Callum passed out. Then the dragon woke up and Soren tried to fight it, but it knocked him down and he hit his back hard and he was paralyzed for a while--"

" _WHAT?!"_

"But I healed him!" Claudia said, "I got him to the hospital and I found a deer and I used it to fix him! He's okay now!"

"I'd hardly describe him--or you--as ~okay~ Claudia." Viren said; he sighed, "Is there anything _else_ that I need to know?"

"...Uh...Well we brought back a dragon horn and Callum broke the primal stone." Claudia said, "I think that's all--wait--yeah, that's all."

" _Brilliant_." Viren muttered; he finished healing Soren's leg--the boy would still have a limp for a while, but he wouldn't feel anymore pain.

"Does that feel better, Soren?" Viren asked.

Soren wriggled his leg a little; he bent in his knee a few times.

"... _Yeah_." he said, awestruck, "Feels great."

Viren gave a firm nod.

"Good." he said; he placed his hands against some of the bandaged wounds and bruises and cuts covering Soren's arms and hands, "Now for the rest of you."

But before he could start the incantations, there was a light touch on his arm; he turned and saw Claudia looking at him.

"...It's your turn, dad." she said, quietly, "...Tell _us_ what happened."

Viren was silent for a moment, then he took a deep breath.

"I took the king's seal from Harrow's room and called a meeting with the Pentarchy to discuss a possible alliance for the war-effort." he stated matter-of-factly; he muttered some incantations for Soren's injuries, "They refused to listen and my actions were discovered. I was removed from the Council and charged with treason."

"But we're not at war, dad!" Soren said, "And what about all the other stuff?--The murder and the ~save the egg instead of Soren~ and the ~kill the princes~ stuff?"

"Moonshadow assassins killed our king." Viren said, coolly, "General Amaya has been battling Sunfires at the border. You two were nearly _killed_ by a dragon flying in our skies. And apparently a moonshadow mage has been hiding in human lands gods-know-how-long watching over a _primal nexus_ and all _that_ implies...I think it's safe to say we're at _war_ , Soren."

Viren moved his hands to the remaining wounds on Soren's face; he muttered a few more incantations.

"As for killing the soldiers...that was a mistake on my part. I believed it was necessary at the time, that if I escaped I could still find some way to rally support to go against Xadia, but I was wrong. I was foolish and desperate; my rage and impulse blinded me."

Soren opened his mouth to argue but then he abruptly snapped it shut; he took on an uncharacteristically contemplative expression.

"...I know the feeling." he muttered after a time; he hung his head.

Viren took his son's face between his hands and lifted his head up to meet his eyes.

"You haven't done anything wrong, Soren." he stated, "Don't you ever think otherwise. That dragon should never have crossed the border in the first place-- _they_ are the one at fault not you, do you understand?"

Soren looked away, still shame-faced. Viren snapped his fingers in front of his son's eyes to get his attention.

"I asked you if you understood." he repeated, tone harder.

Soren looked at him but didn't speak. He gave a slow, simple nod.

" _Good_." Viren said; he let go of his son, "That's settled then." 

He moved to Claudia and took the white bit of her hair in his hand; he said an incantation. The hair shimmered for a moment, then went back to Claudia's usual black. Claudia took the piece of hair from him and held it in front of her face. 

"What about Callum and Ezran?" she asked, giving her hair a few tugs, "Why did you ask Soren to kill them?"

"...And why did you ask Claudia to pick the egg over me?" Soren added, softly.

Viren frowned; he regarded his children with soft eyes. He took a deep breath and changed his expression to a firmer look.

"I told Claudia to choose the egg over you because the egg is the only thing we have to barter with Xadia." Viren said, "Once the dragon queen has her child back there will be nothing to stop her from sending an army to destroy Katolis."--Viren put a hand to his forehead; he ran it through his bangs--"I couldn't live with myself if I let thousands of people die for my own selfish reasons."

"How is saving me selfish?!" Soren asked, the pain in his voice was poignant.

"It's selfish because I care about you, Soren!" Viren snapped, " _I love you_! Don't think for one moment that I made that decision lightly!"

Soren blinked at his father; he lowered his head.

"...You don't always act like you love me." he murmured.

Viren grabbed his son and pulled him into a hug.

"I love you." he said, "Don't you ever doubt that."

Soren didn't say or do anything at first, but after a moment or so, he wrapped his arms around Viren and clung to him like he used to do when he was small and wanted comfort. He began to sniffle slightly.

"...And Callum and Ezran?" Claudia asked softly, rubbing a palm against her own eyes.

"Simple." Viren stated, "Who did Ezran and Callum help when you were at the town? You and the townsfolk or the dragon who trespassed into human land and took human lives?

"The dragon." Claudia replied.

"And who did they run off with and leave the kingdom for?" Viren asked

"The Rayla-elf." Claudia said.

"One of the same moonshadow assassins that attacked the castle?" Viren prompted.

"Uh huh." Claudia said.

"The same group that came to murder our king?" Viren said

"...Yeah." Claudia said, "...Don't you already know all this dad?"

"Yes, I already know all of it. I'm trying to make a point." Viren said, eyes firm, "And that point is that neither of the princes are suitable to rule Katolis."

"But they don't deserve to _die_ , dad!" Claudia said.

"The hundreds of people who lost their lives from that dragon didn't deserve to die either, Claudia!" Viren snapped, "but did either of the princes care about them?"

Claudia blinked. Viren eyes softened. Sighing, he let go of Soren and moved to sit between his children.

"Neither Callum nor Ezran have put the kingdom or its citizens first." he said, "The very night their father was killed, they ran off with one of the assassins that had come to kill him; when a dragon attacked a town full of their own people they released the dragon--Soren would never have been paralyzed in the first place if they had left well enough alone. They currently have Thunder's child, our only means of bartering for Katolis'--and potentially all of humanity's--safety, and are on their way to Xadia to hand them over to the dragon queen in the naive hope that returning her child will put an end to millennia old hostilities."

Viren laid the back of his head against the wall; he stared up at the ceiling with tired eyes.

"...They honestly believe that the dragon queen will be reasonable." he said, "She won't. She hates humanity as much as Thunder did. She won't show mercy because her child is returned. She'll send her armies and destroy us all. People are going to _die_."

 Viren glanced wearily at Soren.

"...That's the reason I ordered you to kill the Callum and Ezran, Soren." He said, "Because we are at war and our two princes care more about elven assassins, dragon scouts, and a dragon that will grow up to terrorize humanity like their father before them than all of the humans they rule over."

Soren looked at his father with a some-what surprised expression; his eyes were still a bit red from crying. 

"...So...What can we do?" he asked, "I don't know if you've heard, but Ezran's come back and he's been crowned king."

"I've heard." Viren replied; he sighed and turned his eyes back to the ceiling, "...I don't know what we can do, Soren."

The three of them sat in silence for a time. Each was lost in their own thoughts. It wasn't until they heard a knock at the door that they were brought back to the present.

"...You have thirty minutes." The guard said.

" _Fine_." Viren snapped; he wrapped his arms around his children, protectively, "Then let us enjoy it in _peace_."

The guard didn't reply; there was the clink of armor as she turned and walked back down the hall.

Viren glared at the door. When he was sure the guard was gone he leaned back into the wall. He began to stare mournfully at the ceiling again.

After a moment, however, his eyes changed. A glimmer of hope came into them.

"...Claudia." he said quietly, "You mentioned you and Soren came upon a primal nexus when you were looking for the princes?"

"Yeah." Claudia said, "It was the Moon Nexus. It's about a two weeks walk from here."

"...Do you think you two could lead me to it?" he asked

"Well, yeah." Claudia said, "But I don't see how it would do much good. It's not like we can use it. Humans can't do primal magic."

Viren turned to her and gave her a knowing smile; he unhooked his arm from her shoulder and turned his hand to the chains in the middle of the cell. He drew the moon rune and let it slither to the chains and form the illusion of himself occupying them.

"WHAT?!" Claudia exclaimed, "You know primal magic?! And there _was_ an illusion dad?! And it was _primal magic_?! How did?--When did?--What did?--"

" _Claudia_!" Viren hissed, " _The guard!"_

Sure enough there was the clatter of armored boots running down the hall. Viren jumped up and dashed to the other side of the room and pressed himself against the wall.

"I heard some one scream!" the guard said, "Is everything alright!?"

"Oh, uh, everything's fine!" Claudia said, "I...I just saw a spider. Yeah! I saw a nice fat spider and I tried to catch it for dark magic but it got away and I screamed."

There was a long silence.

"...Alright." The guard said, "...You have twenty more minutes."

"Okay, thank you." Claudia said.

There was another long silence. Then they heard the guard walk away. They all sighed in relief.

"...How?" Claudia asked after a time, "How did you learn to do that, dad?"

Viren frowned; he narrowed his eyes and glanced to the side.

"...Let's just say that one can find allies in unexpected places." he said; he turned his gaze back to his children; his eyes held a determined glint,  "How I learned is unimportant right now. The thing to take away from this is the fact that I _learned._ Humans aren't as cut off from primal magic as we've been led to believe."

"...We can do primal magic." Claudia murmured, awestruck.

"We can." Viren said; smiling warmly, "I'll teach you."

"...So we can use the nexus." she said, beaming, "And a nexus--"

"Is the most powerful connection a primal source has on earth, correct." Viren finished for her.

Claudia clapped her hands together.

"We're going back to the nexus!" she said, "I can't wait! I've got to show you the ruins, dad!--"

"...I'll admit I liked the little house we stayed at--" Soren added

"And all these gorgeous blue moon roses!--" Claudia pattered on.

"Yeah! Those were pretty!"--Soren agreed.

"Oh! And you've got to see the place where Callum and me almost kissed!"-- Claudia continued.

"You _what_?!" Viren exclaimed.

"But we didn't though!" Claudia added quickly, "We just...almost did."

Viren scowled. He opened his mouth to say something more, but then thought better of it. He took a deep breath and shook his head.

"Yes, well, that's not important." He said; he walked over to his children and knelt down in front of them, "What's important is that we get to the nexus as quickly as possible."

"How are going to do that?" Soren asked, "You're in here and everybody's watching me and Claudia's every move out there. We couldn't even get to the stairs without somebody stopping us."

"...That might be a blessing actually," Viren said, "if done right, the hyper security could work to our advantage." 

"What do you mean, dad?" Claudia asked.

Viren smiled. He made to speak, but he was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"You have ten minutes." The guard said; then she left.

Viren dashed to the corner; he adjusted his illusion, then turned to his children.

"Come back later tonight." he said. "We'll talk more then."

"Okay dad." Claudia said, she got up and helped Soren to his feet; she gave Viren a determined look, "We won't let you down."

"Yeah." Soren agreed, "We'll help stop Xadia once and for all."

Viren watched them walk to the door.

"Wait." he said; he walked over to them.

Claudia and Soren turned to look at him.

"What's wrong?--" Claudia began; she was interrupted as Viren pulled them both into a hug.

"I love you two." he said, "I love you so much."

He leaned back and looked at them; he gave a them a small smile.

"...It might be a good idea for me to put a few small illusions on you both." he said, "The guard might become suspicious if she sees Soren with no injuries and Claudia without her white hair."

"...Oh." Claudia said, "Right."

Viren did a few quick spells. It took a bit of adjusting here and there to look believable, but he managed. When finished, Viren quickly stepped back into his corner. He heard the guard coming.

"I'll see you tonight, alright?" he said.

"See you tonight." Claudia agreed, "We promise."

There was a rattling of keys; the knob turned as the door was unlocked.

"...How did it go?" The guard asked.

Claudia put on her friendliest smile and folded her arms behind her.

"Oh it was great!" She said in that voice she used when she was trying to hide something, "Our dad says he's very proud of us. He hopes that he we can visit him more."

"Did he say that?" the guard asked; she looked behind Claudia at the chained figure, "I didn't know he was capable of being nice."

"Yeah, well, that's because you don't know him like we do." Claudia said, a bit defensively.

"...Claudia...I don't feel so good." Soren said. He began to act like he was in great pain, with grandiose groans and whimpers. Viren had to restrain himself from sighing in exasperation.

"Uh...Gosh!" Claudia exclaimed, "Looks like I need to take Soren to the doctor again!"--she grabbed Soren's arm--"Sorry, pardon us!"--she brushed passed the guard with an Soren still groaning obnoxiously.

The guard looked after them with a confused expression. She looked in at the illusion Viren and cocked her head; with a shrug of her shoulders she closed the door and locked it.

Viren sighed in relief.

 

" _Your children are lovely_."

Viren went rigid; he had forgotten that the elf had been listening.

"...They're no concern of yours, Aaravos." he said, voice hard.

"Aren't they?" Aaravos appeared by the chained illusion and knelt down; his sand-like form shifting and swirling softly, "...Your illusions have improved a great deal in such a short time."--he gave Viren a fond smile--"You really are a natural."

"What do you want with my children, Aaravos?" Viren growled, "How did you even know they were coming?"

Aaravos chuckled.

"Surely you're used to my powers by now?" he murmured, "As for my intentions toward Soren and Claudia--I want the same thing for them as I want for you."

"And that is?" Viren demanded; folding his arms

Aaravos grinned; he got up from the floor.

"I want to see you flourish." he said, "All of you. I want you to thrive."--he offered Viren his hand--"Won't you trust me, Viren? Even if it's only to keep teaching you primal magic?"

Viren looked at hand being offered to him; he sighed.

"...I suppose I don't have a reason not to." he said; he walked over to where Aaravos was standing, but he didn't take his hand; he looked the elf straight in the eyes, "But make no mistake, Aaravos, you still don't have my full trust."--he narrowed his eyes--"If you make even the slightest move out of line I will make sure you regret it...and if I get even an inkling that you would harm either of my children I'll rip off your horns and give them to Soren and Claudia as a token of what I'd do for them. Do you understand?"

"Of course." Aaravos said; he grinned broadly, "I understand perfectly."

" _Good_." Viren said; he clasped Aaravos' hand as firmly as the other's semi-physical form would allow, "Then we are in agreement."

"That we are." Aaravos agreed, "I hope we will have many more agreements in the future."

"Don't hold your breath." Viren said, "...Where did we leave off during the last lesson?"

"Actually, I think it's time for something new." Aaravos said, "Perhaps another arcanum?"

"What did you have in mind?" Viren asked.

"My birth arcanum." Aaravos said, "The stars."

"Star magic?" Viren repeated, "...Well, I don't see why not...What did you want to begin with?

Aaravos smiled in that way that Viren always felt held a secret meaning.

"Let's start with something simple--a time spell should do."

"What time do you want me to see?" Viren asked, "The future or the past?"

"The past." Aaravos said, "The future has too many paths, an untrained mage could get lost amongst them, but the past is set and cannot be changed. It's perfect for a novice."

"Alright." Viren said, "Show me."

Aaravos grinned at him.

"Watch closely." he said, "And follow my lead."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are happening! Holy FUCK!
> 
> Apologies for the wait guys--life has been killer. I wasn't kidding when I said that I might not always be able to update once a week 😅
> 
> Another POV change, because I love the mage family and wanted to write their interactions without the lens of Aaravos' pining.
> 
> Anyway, here we have Viren reunite with his children and give his reason(s) for sending them on such traumatizing missions; we have Soren realize that he and his father are more alike than he thought and that politics is serious business; we have Claudia have an epiphany about magic and what it means for her...and we have Aaravos get exactly what he wants--won't be the last time either. 😂😂😂


	19. Star Magic and the Beginnings of an Escape

Viren sat by the far wall of the cell, breathing heavily; he clutched his head.

"Well that was certainly an _experience_." he said; he gave a hiss of pain, "My head feels like it's been gnawed by a banther." 

"Star magic is a bit potent." Aaravos agreed; he lowered himself to Viren's side and pressed a hand over his forehead; warm healing magic spread from his fingertips--"It's not uncommon for beginners to react negatively. I'm sorry, I should have warned you."

Viren sighed as the throbbing in his head ebbed away; he leaned against the wall.

"No." he said, "Don't apologize, there's no harm done...Let's just talk about what you showed me"--he pulled away from Aaravos' touch and turned to look at the elf--"You had a daughter."

Aaravos gave him a small smile; it held a touch of sadness.

"I did." He said, "Elarion."

"Elarion." Viren repeated, incredulous, " _The_  Elarion?"

"Yes." Aaravos said, " _The_ Elarion. The Death Witch. The Dragon-Eater. The Black Star."

"The same Elarion who slaughtered a thousand skywing elves using only the eye of a moon phoenix?" Viren suggested, "The same Elarion who brought down two earth dragons when they tried to assassinate Queen Selene?"

"It was two thousand skywings and five dragons, actually." Aaravos corrected; he smiled wistfully, "She always had such talent, my Elarion."

"That's putting it modestly." Viren said, "She was _incredible_. You must be extremely proud."

"I am." Aaravos said; a sad look came into his eyes, "...I wish I had spent more time with her." 

They fell into a silence. Aaravos looked at the far wall with an unreadable expression and Viren considered him silently. It was against his better judgement, but he had started to care a bit for the elf. He certainly had his sympathy in this; Viren knew how difficult it was to lose someone you loved.

Viren scowled; he looked away from the other.

 _Be careful._  He reminded himself.  _Don't let your guard down._

Aaravos began to chuckle and Viren was brought out of his thoughts.

"What's so funny?" He asked

Aaravos turned his head and smiled at him; his eyes crinkled merrily.

"Oh, I was just remembering how my girl responded to the first dark magic spell I showed her." he said, "It was so adorable."

"I see." Viren said, "Claudia had a reaction to her first spell, too."

"Perhaps we can exchange stories?" Aaravos suggested, "I can tell you about Elarion's first spell and you tell me about Claudia's."

"Don't you already know how it went?" Viren asked, frowning, "I thought you knew everything about my life."

"Not everything." Aaravos said, "...But you're right, I do know how Claudia's first spell went. That being said, I'd still like to hear you tell it. I find that you learn more about a person's true nature when they're allowed to describe their lives for themselves."

The elf slid closer. He placed a hand beside Viren's.

"Consider it an exchange." He said, "You get to learn more about me and I--"

"Get to see me look like a fool." Viren huffed. 

Aaravos chuckled; he leaned toward him.

"No." he said, "I get to see your heart."

Viren rolled his eyes.

"You make everything sound so dramatic." he said, "It's infuriating."

Aaravos lifted a shoulder and brought it down elegantly.

"We all have our idiosyncrasies." He said, "I'm sorry to hear you don't find mine charming...yet."

Viren scowled at the elf; he was on the verge of insulting the other's smug confidence, but thought better of it. Past experience had taught him that petty jibes and threats didn't really faze Aaravos; it was a waste of time to even try.

"...Let's just get this over with." he sighed; he gave the elf a sardonic look, "Is there any particular way you want me to tell the story?"

Aaravos beamed at him.

"Try using visuals." he said, "I want to see how far you've progressed with your illusions."

" _Fine_." Viren snipped; he lifted his hands in the air and focused on the middle of the cell.

"Claudia and I were out collecting dragonflies for a spell I needed to perform." he began, "She was only four or five at the time and hadn't yet shown an affinity for dark magic."

With a twist of his hands, Viren summoned another Viren and a young Claudia. Both held a dragonfly net and were walking about the cell sweeping around at ghostly dragonflies. 

"Your insects need work." Aaravos commented; Viren shot him a nasty glare.

"Do you want to hear this story or not?" He bit out.

Aaravos chuckled; he raised his hands in mock-surrender.

"No need to be angry." he said, "Please continue."

Viren snorted; he turned back to his illusions.

"As I was saying...Claudia was having some trouble catching dragonflies."--he waved his hand and the younger Claudia ran off after a dragonfly; she flailed her net around wildly trying to catch it, but it kept eluding her--"She tried so hard, but she only caught two or three at most."--the young Claudia cornered the dragonfly and brought her net down hard; the dragonfly evaded the net at the last minute and Claudia only caught the ground; she began to get teary-eyed--"She started to get upset, so I thought I'd show her a spell to cheer her up."

The other Viren noticed Claudia's distress and dropped his net to the ground; he rushed over to his daughter and gave her a hug.

"Would you like to see a trick?" he asked.

Claudia pulled back from the hug. She wiped her nose with the back of her hand and gave him a small nod. Viren smiled gently; he picked up a jar full of dragonflies he'd caught, then got up. He pulled a snake's tail from his pocket it and crushed it against the glass.

"Yerp ruoy etacilper," He said, "Tnepres kard."

The jar split into two. Claudia blinked; she rubbed the tears from her eyes then looked back at Viren with an expression of disbelief.

"It's not over." Viren said, "Watch."

He threw one of the jars into the air and it divided into a third jar. Then he threw the other jar and it split into a fourth. He kept throwing jars until he was juggling a total of ten altogether. Claudia watched the performance with wide-eyes.

"It took some time to fully calm her." the true Viren said," I can't remember exactly, but I think I might have been juggling for around fifteen minutes. When I did finally stop, Claudia was desperate to learn the spell."

The other Viren threw all the jars in the air and spread his arms wide. The jars began to pull together; one by one they joined with each other until only one jar was left. Viren caught the jar and set it on the ground; he swept an arm to his waist in a bow. Claudia clapped enthusiastically.

"Teach me!" she said; she ran to Viren and threw her arms around his legs; she turned her face up and beamed at him, "Teach me how to do that, papa!"

The other Viren smiled down at her.

"Of course I will." he said, "But we'll need to go back to the study for the ingredients."

Claudia let go of his legs and ran around gathering up their equipment.

"Ready!" she said when she was finished; her net was caught on her head, a satchel was tied around her waist, and she carried three jars apiece under her arms. Viren burst out laughing.

"You don't have to carry it all by yourself. Here." He twirled a finger in the air and the net was off Claudia's head and into her hand, the jars bobbed away from her arms and packed themselves into the satchel, and the satchel untied itself from around her waist and floated over to Viren; he took it and draped it over his shoulder.

"Alright." he said; he walked over and picked up his dragonfly net; he held out his free hand to Claudia, "Let's go home."

"And get the snake tails for magic!" Claudia exclaimed, taking his hand.

"That's right." Viren said with a smile.

As the two walked off, Claudia swung Viren's arm back and forth and babbled on about how she wanted to learn all the magic tricks he could teach her. Viren smiled and nodded. Slowly, the figures dissipated into nothing.

"And that's how it went." the true Viren said; he leaned back against the wall and glanced at Aaravos, "Your turn."

"It was the growth spell." Aaravos said immediately, "Elarion was learning primal magic so fast I thought it was time to start on something else. We didn't call it 'dark magic' at the time, though. It was just 'magic' albeit a new kind." --he gave a nostalgic chuckle--"You should have seen her face. As soon as the seed began to grow her mouth fell open and her eyes widened; by the time the flowers bloomed her eyes were the size of saucers. She was obsessed with dark magic after that."

Aaravos lolled his head to the side and gave Viren a sweet smile.

"The end." he said

Viren glared him; he folded his arms across his chest.

"I see that y _ou_ didn't bother to use any visuals." he huffed.

Aaravos smirked.

"I thought I could show you the real thing the next time we traverse the past." he said, "Give you some incentive to practice star magic."

"There's always a catch with you isn't there?" Viren groaned.

"One of my infuriating quirks, perhaps." Aaravos said; he moved a bit closer, "Maybe one day they won't bother you so much."

"And maybe one day you'll learn the meaning of personal space." Viren retorted, glaring at Aaravos and then at the shrinking space between them.

Aaravos chuckled. He laid his shoulder and the side of his head against the wall; he hooded his eyes.

"You're quite the fiery thing you know." he murmured.

"And you're an enigmatic, aggravating thing." Viren clipped back; he sighed; he pressed his head back against the wall, "...Can you just leave me be for a moment?"

"Of course, take all the time you need." Aaravos said, "I'll be here when you're ready to talk."

Viren shot him a glare, but didn't say anything more.

Aaravos was true to his word and gave Viren his space. They fell into a quiet; one that held longer than before.

"Do you think about it often?" Viren asked after a time, "Your life from before?"

"I used to." Aaravos replied, a touch pensive, "Not so much anymore. I find that dwelling on the past for too long isn't good for one's mental stability. Besides I rather like my present circumstances"--he gave Viren a smirk--"present company included."

It took every bit of restraint Viren could muster not to smack a hand to his forehead in exasperation.

"Yes, we've established that you've been alone for far too long." he said, "Can we get back on topic?"

"Can we talk about something else, Viren?" Aaravos asked quietly, "I know I've promised to tell you everything...but I can't bear to think of the past right now."

Viren looked at the elf. He was staring the wall again and wearing the same indecipherable expression as before. Viren considered comforting him. He  began to reach out a hand to the other, but midway he stopped; he brought his fingers into his palm and laid his hand on the stone floor beside him.

"...I'm sorry for your loss." he said, simply.

"Thank you." Aaravos replied

It fell silent, but only for a moment.

"...We should prepare." Aaravos said, "Your children will be here any moment."

"Already?" Viren stated, "I thought we had at least a few more hours."

"It took hours just to connect you to the star arcanum." Aaravos replied, "And hours more to visit the past. Now we have one hour at most before Soren and Claudia return."

"Well if that's the case we best not lollygag." Viren got up from the floor and brushed himself off. Aaravos followed suit.

"...For what it's worth." Viren said, "I really am sorry about Elarion."

"I know." Aaravos said softly, "Thank you Viren."

Viren was about to say something more, but there was a knock at the door.

"Lord Viren, your children have returned." the guard said, "They want to wish you good night. May I let them in?"

"Of course! Go get them!" Viren said; he hissed to Aaravos, "Aaravos you need to--"

But like before the elf was already gone. Viren sighed; he shook his head.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to your antics, Aaravos." he muttered.

"Never say never, Viren." Aaravos replied, "Who knows what the future might hold."

" _You_ know." Viren countered, "You're a diviner."

Aaravos laughed.

"Very true." he said, "Perhaps you'd like me to tell you your future?"

"No." Viren said, "I'd prefer to experience it for myself--'See' it for myself as you put it."

"It will take some time before we reach that point." Aaravos replied, "In the meantime focus on the present."

There was the clink of armor as the guard made her way back to the Viren's cell; Viren dashed to his hiding spot beside the door; hastily he created another illusion of himself chained.

"Your children, Lord Viren." The guard said when she reached the door.

"Let them in." Viren replied

The lock rattled and the door opened. Claudia came in chattering a million words a minute and Soren was groaning piteously.

"Thank you so much for letting us say goodnight to our dad!" Claudia said, "Really! It's so nice! You deserve a raise! Tell Ezran to give you a raise! We can't thank you en--"

"Claudia." Soren groaned, "Help me, everything's getting dark. I can't feel my toes. Please. Take me to dad so I can say goodnight--one--last--time."

 Viren pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. His children were horrible liars.

"Yeah, right, of course, Soren!" Claudia exclaimed; she wrapped her brother's arm around her shoulders, "Let's see dad! Oh!"--she turned to the guard--"Can you give us some time alone? I know you've got orders and all, but we'd really like some time with our dad...Us. By ourselves."

The guard looked from Claudia, to Soren.

"Forty minutes." she said, "That's all I can do for you."

"Oh, that's more than enough!" Claudia said, "Okay! See you! Thank you! Hope Ezran gives you that raise!"

The guard gave her a bewildered look.

"...You're welcome." she said, "Uh...have a nice visit."

She closed the door behind them; there was the click of the lock.

"Well, that was quite the performance." Viren said, moving out of his hiding place.

"Yeah, wasn't it great?" Soren said, beaming; he unhooked his arm from Claudia's shoulders and ran a hand through his hair, "Forget poetry, acting is my calling." 

"You can't fight dragons as an actor, Soren." Viren sighed, "And what's this about poetry?"

"Oh I came up with a few poems when I was paralyzed, no big deal." he turned to look at his father; he was practically glowing, "Actually, would you like to hear them? I worked really hard coming up with the themes and stuff."

"As much as I'd love to hear your poems Soren, it will have to wait." Viren said, "Preferably when we're not in the middle of a life and death situation."

"...Oh, uh, right." Soren said, "Sorry dad."

The boy looked absolutely crestfallen. Viren sighed.

"Once we get out of the castle tonight." he said, "I want you to tell me every poem."

Soren beamed.

"Really? You mean it?" He asked

"Yes, I mean it." Viren replied, "Now let's--"

"Tonight?!" Claudia exclaimed, "We're leaving tonight?!"

" _Voice_ , Claudia." Viren hissed, "And if all goes as planned, yes."

"But how are we going to get past all the guards?" Claudia whispered, "Are you going to put a spell on them? Or are you going to--"

Her green eyes sparkled brilliantly; she clapped her hands together.

"Are you going to do more primal magic?" she asked eagerly

Viren looked at his daughter.

And smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which Aaravos and Viren grow closer, Soren and Claudia return, and hijinks ensue 😂😂


	20. Prison Break

"Why have these two been allowed to see Lord Viren unattended?!"

The guard spun around so fast she nearly stumbled. 

"Lady Opeli?!" she exclaimed, "I--How did you get down here?"

"The traditional way--I walked." Opeli said "Answer me. Why have _they_ "--she gestured to Soren and Claudia standing behind her--"been allowed to interact with their father unsupervised?"

The guard shuffled uncomfortably.

"I--they had asked for some time alone with their father." she answered.

" _And_?" Opeli countered, "Allowing them time alone doesn't mean you run off and leave them--and with an unlocked door no less."

"But--but I locked the door." The guard protested.

"Then how are they out here with me? " Opeli responded.

The guard blinked in confusion, then she looked down shame-faced.

"I--I must have forgotten--Lady Opeli, I--"

Opeli raised a hand.

"Let's just pretend this never happened." she said. She gazed at the guard for a moment; her eyes softened.

"It's good that you have compassion." she murmured; she laid a hand on the guard's shoulder, "It's especially remarkable for a soldier of your experience and rank...but have to remember that you're still a _soldier._  Your first priority must always be the safety of the kingdom and its people...even it means being cruel at times. Do you understand?"

"I understand." The guard said quietly.

Opeli nodded.

"Good." She said; she turned to Claudia and Soren and beckoned to them.

"Come along you two." She said, "You'll get to spend more time with your father tomorrow."--she gave the guard a serious look--"Time that will be properly supervised and that the Council will be made aware of."

"Yes, of course, we understand." Claudia prattled nervously, "Come on, Soren."

 She grabbed her brother by the arm and dragged him after the priestess.

"...For what it's worth I still hope you get that promotion." She said to the guard as they passed her.

"Don't lollygag, Claudia." Opeli said from the other side of the corridor, "Come on."

"Oh, right, yeah, coming." Claudia stammered; she dashed forward with Soren stumbling along beside her. When they reached Opeli, the other gave them a nod and started to walk down the hall. They walked briskly after her. They walked down corridors and up stairs. They passed multiple guards and cells.

"There's guards in every door and hall." Claudia whispered; she gripped Soren's arm tightly, "Are you sure we can pull this off da--I mean miss Opeli?"

"Of course." Viren responded; it was so unnerving to hear Opeli's voice come from his own mouth, "All we have to do is stop by 'my' chambers and pick up the staff, then we'll be on our way. Everything will be alright, just stay close to me." 

They reached the top of a flight of stairs and walked down the following hall. The door that exited the dungeon was at the end. 

"The main corridor should be less occupied." Viren whispered, when they reached the exit, "Once we're out there I'll need to find a quiet place to disguise you both. I doubt the guards will just let my children waltz to Opeli's chambers without a second glance."

"Ok." Claudia replied.

"You got it." Soren added.

Viren nodded at them; taking a breath, he pushed open the doors to the main castle. A slew of guards turned to face them.

"My Lady?" one said, "Where did you come from?"

"The dungeon obviously," Viren said, in his best no-nonsense tone, "I was just going to escort our young charges here to their new rooms. Now if you'll excuse me."

He grabbed Soren and Claudia by their arms and dragged them with him out into the hall. He watched as the sea of guards lessened to a trickle. When the guards began to appear sporadically, he turned into a corner and shoved his children into a side room.

"Keep quiet." he hissed, "I need to focus."

He put his hands on Soren and Claudia's shoulders; they squirmed slightly as their illusion forms took hold. 

"There." he said when finished, "Let's go."

"Did you make me look tough?" Soren asked, as they hurried back out into the hall, "I want to look tough."

"You look as tough as you need to, Soren." Viren sighed, "Let's just get my staff and leave."

They began to walk in the direction of Opeli's rooms.

"...Opeli should be asleep by now." Claudia stated, "How are we going to get your staff without waking her up?" 

"We'll be quick and quiet." Viren replied, "If she does wake up I'll create a diversion to distract her...Hush now, we're here." 

The doors to Opeli's chambers were large and grand; some freshly carved scriptures were enscribed in them--to protect her from _him_  no doubt. Viren rolled his eyes. Leave it to Opeli to put her fate in the hands of mindless superstition. If she had really wanted to keep him out she would have done well to learn a spell or two. Shaking his head at the foolishness of his former colleague, he gripped the door knob; it glowed under his hand and there was a click as the inner mechanism unlocked. He pushed the door forward.

"...Perhaps I should do this part alone." He said to his children, "You two keep watch. And if anyone asks, Opeli has stationed you here as her personal guards. Don't worry, I won't be long."

"Okay...Please be careful dad." Claudia said

"Yeah." Soren agreed, "Don't do anything crazy."

"I'll be careful." Viren reassured them, "Stay here."

He closed the door gently behind him. He turned and glanced around the room.

It wasn't a modest space. It was as large and beautiful as the doors had been--with ornate furnishings and rare trinkets.

"You have taste Opeli, I'll grant you that." Viren muttered.

"One of the few things the two of you share." Aaravos said. Viren scowled.

"I'm nothing like her." He said; he took a candle from a nearby table, "Didn't we agree that you would be quiet during this venture?"

"I agreed to remain silent when you were around your children." Aaravos countered, "Not when we're alone. I want to help."--he appeared in front of Viren in his usual sparkling, sand-like form--"Follow me, the staff is in--"

 "--It's either in Opeli's bedroom or her private ritual room." Viren interrupted, "I _know_. I'm not completely helpless, Aaravos. I don't need your help with every little thing."

"Suit yourself." the other said; he gave Viren a smile, "I'm here if you need me."

"Yes. Thank you." Viren said; he made a gesture for Aaravos to shoo, "If you please, you're getting sand over everything."

Aaravos chuckled.

"As you wish." He purred; he promptly disappeared.

Viren waved a hand through the glittering dust Aaravos had left behind and began to make his way to Opeli's bedroom. It was the most logical place to start with; it only made sense to keep the weapon of an enemy close. 

When he reached the bedroom Viren pressed his ear to the door; he faintly heard the sound of Opeli tossing and turning in her sleep. He pushed the door open gently and went inside.

The bedroom was just as grand as the rest of Opeli's chambers, though it was a bit smaller. Viren tip-toed around quietly; he looked in the closet, behind the dresser, and even under the bed--the staff wasn't there. That left the ritual room. 

As he was getting ready to leave Viren cast a look at sleeping Opeli.

"...You're going to regret not heeding my warnings." he murmured.

Opeli didn't stir; she continued to sleep peacefully. Viren watched her passively. Then he turned his back to her and left the room.

He walked further down the hall and came to the ritual room; its doors were covered in symbols and inscriptions. He pushed them opened and went inside.

As he was exploring, he noticed some movement at his right; he whirled around and lifted the candle for a better look. His own candle-lit face stared back at him.

"The mirror." he murmured, " _Tch_. She would."

Viren continued to look around. As he explored, he saw something covered in a dark cloth; he walked over and pulled the cloth away. His staff was underneath, propped up against a table at a strange angle. He scowled.

"It's a trap." Aaravos murmured.

"I know." He replied; he looked at the floor, "It's on a pressure plate. One wrong move and an alarm will sound and we'll be caught."--he looked around again--"I need something of equal weight to replace it."

His eyes fell upon ritual sword.

"There!" he said; he dashed over and grabbed it, then he ran back to the staff. 

He paused and examined the pressure plate carefully, trying to find the exact spot that distributed weight; he looked at the staff and observed the angle it was laid in. It was at an obtuse angle with most of the weight falling in the middle. He'd need to hook the sword's handle to the table for it to distribute the weight correctly.

He adjusted his hold on the sword. Gingerly took the staff into his hand. 

"Be careful." Aaravos murmured

"Hush!" Viren hissed, "Let me concentrate!"

He took a deep breath; quickly, he snatched the staff off the pressure plate and put the sword in its place. He stumbled back and listened to see if the alarm would go off. It didn't and Viren breathed a sigh of relief; brushing himself off, he made his way back to the entrance.

"It should be a simple escape now." Aaravos said, "The worst part is over."

"The ~worst part~ is never over." Viren replied, "There's always some new trouble waiting around the corner."

"That's not a healthy way of thinking, Viren." Aaravos stated, "You shouldn't waste energy worrying about future problems."

"My health is none of your business." Viren said, "And I'll use my energy however I see fit."

"I hope you find a more pleasant way to use it then." Aaravos said, "Try listening to poems, perhaps? Don't forget what you promised Soren."

"I remember." Viren replied; he waved his hand and his disguise changed from Opeli to a common guard, "And as soon as we're out of the castle I'll keep my promise, but right now we have to avoid the rest of the guards and find a safe exit."--he ran a hand over his staff and it changed into a sword--"My children are just outside; we'll have to end this conversation for now."

"Very well." Aaravos said, "I look forward to our next chat."

Viren didn't reply; he shook his head in fond annoyance and opened the door.

Soren and Claudia were standing guard on either side of the doors; they were still as statues.

"Are you ready?" Viren asked.

Claudia squeaked in surprise and Soren spun around so fast he almost lost his footing. 

"...Dad?" Soren asked, "Is that y--"

"Yes it's me, your father duly named Viren." Viren said impatiently, "Yes, I found the staff"--he gave the sword a little swing--"And yes, it's time for us to leave. Come along."

He began to walk down the hall; Soren and Claudia scrambled to catch up. 

"This is the quickest way I know of." He said as they turned into a corridor, "We'll walk to the middle of the hall, then we'll take the corridor to the left. We'll take two more lefts then a right and reach the kitchen. We'll go through the kitchen and exit out into the stable yard. It should be easy to get off castle grounds after that."

"This leads to the stables?!" Soren asked, disbelieving, "If I knew there was a shortcut I could have done double the horse-back training! How did you find out about it, dad?"

"...Let's just say I wasn't always a mage." Viren replied, "And leave it at that."

 

They made their way quickly. Few guards roamed the area and those who did generally paid no attention to them. When an inquiry was made it was met with a curt 'classified orders' and nothing else. Eventually they made it to the stable yard.

"Follow me." Viren said; he began to walk to a part of the castle wall.

"Dad...that's a wall." Claudia said when they came closer.

"Only if you don't know the trick." He walked forward and then to the his left; he disappeared behind stone.

"Dad! Where'd you go?!" Soren cried

" _Shhhh_! I'm here!" Viren hissed, poking his head from behind the wall, "It's just a trick of the eye, Soren! The wall was built to match the one behind it!"

"...Oh." Soren said; he rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment, "Sorry."

Viren sighed; he jutted his head to his right.

"This way." he said

 

The path led to an area by a bridge. It was quiet and almost empty, though Viren did see the occasional passerby scurry over the bridge.  He turned to face Soren and Claudia.

"Hold still." He said; he gripped their shoulders and changed their disguises from guards to common towns-folk. 

"Listen carefully." He said, changing his own disguise, "We have to put as much distance as we can between us and the castle tonight. Stay close to me and if anyone asks we're just humble travelers passing through town. Do you understand?"

"We understand, dad." Claudia said, "And we're ready."

"Good, then we should have no problems." Viren said.

He led them over the bridge and down the street. They passed by houses and small shops, as well as a few herb gardens; they passed the blacksmith's, the bakery, the jeweler's.

 

"Well Soren?" Viren said when they were getting close to the edge of town, "Aren't you going to recite your poems to me?"

"Oh!" Soren exclaimed, "Yeah, of course!" 

Soren dashed to Viren's side and gave his father a broad grin.

"Okay, I came up with this one after Claudia healed me." He said, excitedly, "I call it  _Dark Magic Isn't Bad It's Just Misunderstood,_ I hope you like it."

"I'm sure it will be fine Soren." Viren replied.

"Okay, here goes." Soren said; he cleared his throat and began, _"Smashed back felt nothing. Magic sister make better. Dark magic not bad....._ What do you think?"

Viren pressed his lips into a thin line. That had been one of the worst poems he'd ever heard.

"...Well it certainly is creative." He said, "And your format is surprisingly good for a beginner. "

"I taught him the correct number of syllables." Claudia chimed in, "His first haiku wasn't even a haiku."

"I see." Viren said; he looked at Soren. The boy was absolutely glowing with pride, "...Let's hear that one next."

Soren beamed.

 _"Dragon smash boy. Say the good words now. They light the hearts of other people."_ He recited.

"I see you have a recurring theme of pain in your work." Viren commented; he frowned, "...Are you alright?"

"I'm great!" Soren exclaimed, "Nothing hurts anymore! I mean I still have a bit of a limp sure, but--"

"I meant emotionally, Soren." Viren interrupted, "Have you been feeling...afraid? Anxious maybe?"

Soren blinked. He looked at the ground, brows knitted in thought.

"...I guess sometimes?" he replied, "I mean...I've had a few nightmares and stuff, but I don't think it's anything serious."

"I'd say it's more serious than you realize." Viren muttered; he walked a bit further, then suddenly he stopped; he spun around to face his children.

"Do either of you still have that dragon horn?" He asked urgently.

"Yeah, I have it." Claudia said, "Why? Do you need it?"

"Yes." Viren said, "Give it to me."

Claudia fumbled around in her satchel; she pulled out the horn and gave it to her father. Viren took it and promptly snapped it in two; Claudia squeaked in dismay.

"Why'd you do that for?!" She cried, "We could have used it for something wonderful!"

"We still can, Claudia." Viren replied; he began to tap the two pieces together.

"Nogard eht rof nocaeb a emoceb." He recited, "Emalf fo nroh."

The pieces were engulfed in bright orange flames.

"What's happening?" Soren asked. Viren smirked.

"Let the fire subside and I'll show you." He said.

The flames died down. Viren balanced the pieces in his palms. 

"Where is the dragon?" he asked

The two halves shuddered; they floated from his hands into the air and snapped themselves together. They spun around and came to rest pointing in the direction of northeast.

"See?" Viren said; he caught the two pieces into his hands as they broke apart again, "Now we'll be able to find that murderous creature."

"But I thought we were going to the Moon nexus?" Soren said, cocking his head,

"We are." Viren said, "But once we've finished there, I'm tracking that beast down."--his face darkened slightly; his voice lowered into a lethal whisper--"I'm going to _kill_ it. I'll tear its horns off one by one. I'll rip off its wings. It will _rue_ the day it touched you, Soren."

Soren's eyes widened; he stared at his father, dumbstruck with emotion. Claudia grinned from ear to ear; she began to chatter excitedly.

"We can get more horns!" she prattled, clapping her hands together, "And snot, and scales, and claws--"

As Claudia went on about the multitude of useful dragon parts, Soren continued staring at his father; tears were welling in the corners of his eyes. Viren placed his staff before him and rested his hands on top of it. He regarded Soren with softness.

"I told you never to doubt that I love you." He said, "Maybe now you understand just how much."--he smiled warmly at his son--"...Don't you have more poems to recite for me?"

Soren dashed the tears from his eyes and gave his father a shaky smile.

"Yeah." he said, "...This one I call  _Pretty Flower..._ "

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

  

It was dawn by the time they stopped to rest. They had traveled miles from the castle and were making great time getting to the Moon Nexus-- _It's easier the second time around_ \--Claudia had said. 

They made their camp in a small glade near a river. Viren set up a temporary shelter from logs and stones; he had Soren and Claudia go inside to sleep while he went to gather wild-berries and fish from the river.

"You should sleep too, you know." Aaravos said, appearing at his side, "It's not healthy to push your body so hard, Viren **."**

"Oh stop your mother-hening." Viren huffed, pushing branches and shrubs out from his path,  "Why don't you make yourself useful and tell me where the closest berry bush is?"

"Two feet to your right." Aaravos said, "Blackberries."

"Much obliged." Viren stated; they followed Aaravos' directions and sure enough there was a blackberry bush; Viren removed his outer vest and began filling it with berries.

"Would you like to talk?" Aaravos asked, "Perhaps we can exchange more stories?"

"I'd much rather learn more about the arcanums than make simple conversation" Viren replied, "And not to be rude but our last 'sharing of stories' was incredibly unsatisfying for me."

"I won't be teaching you anymore primal magic until you've rested, Viren." Aaravos said firmly.

"And _I_ won't rest until my children have something to eat." Viren bit back, "So either help me find food or keep quiet. Neither your scoldings nor your stories are wanted now." 

"Is that so?" Aaravos said; he chuckled, then his voice took on a soft, enticing tone, "I think I have a few tales that you'd love to hear."

"Oh really?" Viren asked sarcastically, "And what performance do you want to see from my end this time, hm? Should I create more illusions? Or perhaps I can use dark magic spells in a flashy spectacle?"

Aaravos laughed.

"No. No performances this time _dear_ Viren." he lilted, "This will be a simple trade. Though if you need a bit more of an incentive, how about this,"--he folded his arms behind his back and bent forward slightly; he looked down at Viren with hooded eyes--"I'll answer any question you ask. No tricks, no half-measures, just complete and honest information. Does that intrigue you?"

Viren narrowed his eyes.

" _Any_ question, Aaravos?" he said, "Since when are you willing to give information so freely?"

"Since we left the Katolian castle thousands of miles away." Aaravos replied, "Since there are no guards or priestesses to worry about."--he smirked; his voice dipped into a soothing whisper--"There's no one here who would do us any harm, Viren. We can talk about whatever you want."

Viren frowned; he turned away from the other and began to tie the corners of his blackberry-laden vest together.

"...Will you provide proof that what you tell me is a the truth?" He asked.

"I'll do you one better." Aaravos replied, "I'll make it part of our next magic lesson; we'll visit the past and you'll see for yourself that I'm not lying."

Viren picked up his vest and began to walk in the direction of the river.

"Alright, answer me this, then," he said, "how did you learn dark magic?"

"Oh that's simple." Aaravos replied, "I Saw my dear human friend do it and decided to try it for myself. It took some getting used to at first, I'll admit, but I believe it was one of the best decisions I ever made."

"So a human really was the first to discover dark magic... _Your_ human." Viren glanced at Aaravos with a touch of suspicion, "Perhaps now you that you're in such a chatty mood you will tell me about him?"

Aaravos smirked; he wagged a finger.

"Ah! Ah! Ah!" He chided, "This is a trade, remember? You have to let me ask a question as well."

Viren turned his head to the sky and groaned.

" _Fine_." he huffed, "What do you want to know?"

Aaravos gave him a gentle smile.

"What's your favorite flower?" He asked, softly, "Tell me."

"Why on earth would you care about that?" Viren wondered, furrowing his brows.

"Because I don't know the answer." Aaravos replied, "And I want to know."

Viren opened his mouth to speak, then promptly closed it. He looked at the ground, contemplating his answer.

"...I've never really thought about it before." He said, "I like calla lilies, I suppose. Roses are also lovely."

"Flowers of passion and love." Aaravos stated, "How romantic."

"I don't like them for their meaning." Viren said, gruffly, "Just their beauty."

"I see." Aaravos said; he gave Viren a sly smile, "I too appreciate beautiful things."

 

Viren heard the soft rushing of water as they grew closer to the river.

"We should continue this another time." he said, "Catching fish will be hard enough without you around to distract me."

"Am I really so bad?" Aaravos chuckled. 

" _Yes_." Viren snipped, "Now go, I'll see you again for our daily magic lesson."

"Perhaps we could make this a routine as well?" Aaravos suggested, "We could spend a little time each day asking each other questions."--he smirked--"It would be a way to make our relationship a bit more even, don't you think? You would get to know me as well as I know you."

"Very true." Viren replied; he shrugged, "As long as you give evidence for my inquires, I see no reason why we shouldn't...but I warn you, if you I find out you've lied to me I'll--"

"You'll snap my horns off and give them to Soren and Claudia," Aaravos interrupted, "You'll drink my blood. You'll make me suffer for as long as you can. Yes, I know."

Viren stopped walking; he turned to Aaravos and gave the other a dark look.

"Don't take my threats lightly, Aaravos." He growled; his voice was low and dangerous, "I mean them."

Aaravos chuckled; it was soft and rich as honey. 

"...Don't take my promises lightly, Viren." He purred; he laid a palm against Viren's cheek and leaned in to whisper into his ear, "I mean _them_."

Viren pulled away from the touch. He glared viciously at the other.

"We agreed to keep the clinging to a minimum." he said. Aaravos tilted his head and smiled sweetly.

"Why whenever did we make that arrangement?" He asked innocently.

Viren smacked a hand to his forehead and dragged it down his face. Aaravos burst out laughing.

"If it really bothers you so much, I'll try to restrain myself better." He said; he smiled brilliantly, "I'll see you tonight. We'll visit my past and you'll see how I learned dark magic....but only _after_ you've slept and eaten, understood?"

" _Alright_." Viren said, utterly exasperated, "Now I'd like to catch some fish if you don't mind."

"Of course." Aaravos said, "Good luck."

He disappeared in a puff of sand and dust. Viren rolled his eyes and began to walk the rest of the way to the river; as he walked, he reassessed what he had learned  about his mysterious 'ally'.

 

He had learned that Aaravos was a father and to the one and only Elarion, no less. He had taken care of her and trained her in magic both dark and primal. The old legends made all the more sense now.

Elarion wasn't his only pupil, however; Aaravos was too experienced a teacher for that to be the case. But who else had been taught was a question that remained unanswered. Viren had his theories, though. He did recall hearing a few stories about Queen Selene having the ability to create wind from a whisper and typhoons from her tears; perhaps these feats had been a reference to sky magic?

 

But the most important thing Viren learned?--beyond the connection to humans and the unsurpassable knowledge of magic-- was how Aaravos had come to know so much about Viren's life before ever having met him. It was simple; so simple Viren was disgusted that he hadn't realized it sooner.

 

Aaravos had watched him. He'd used his powers of divination to 'See' his life as he liked to call it. He'd _spied_ on him.

 

Viren grit his teeth. He should have known. Aaravos was an elf and elves were entitled, arrogant creatures. It was in their nature to take what wasn't theirs. And to think he'd had actually begun to _care_ about this one! He'd been a fool. 

 

...But  _why_ Aaravos had chosen to spy on him was something Viren was still unable to understand. The elf wanted something obviously, but Viren didn't know exactly what _._

 

Viren continued walking and mulled it over in his mind; he began piecing together a plan.

 

He needed to find out what his 'friend' wanted from him; he also needed to find out how to defeat him when Viren refused to provide it. Now he couldn't cleave out the information directly lest he rose the elf's suspicion, but if he was patient enough there was a way to gather it without Aaravos ever even knowing...In fact, it would be his so-called ally who would give him the tools to pull it off and wasn't that just delicious?

Viren smirked. If this worked as well as he hoped, he would be able to gather all the information he needed and more. He'd be able to protect Katolis from any threat and turn the tide of war to humanity's side. He'd also have his revenge against Aaravos--a sweet incentive if ever he knew one.

 

And if it didn't work?...Well.

 

Viren stepped into the sun and found himself standing at the edge of the river.

 

Aaravos may clever. But so was he. He'd let the elf think he had the upper hand for now. He'd play his parts. He'd be the suspicious companion slowly learning to trust his elven ally; he'd be the intrigued student. But as soon as an opportunity arose...

  

"Fortune favors the bold." He murmured; smirking, he made his way down the river bank and waded into the water. He snapped his fingers and a dark spell formed around his hand; he lifted it into the air and spread his legs into a wide stance. He watched as fish flitted to and fro just out of reach.

 

Readying himself, he waited for a moment to strike.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Viren's pissed. Aaravos better watch himself 😂😂😂
> 
> Anyway, here duly ends the mage fam interactions (for now) we should be back to your regularly scheduled Aaravos pining in the next chapter (hopefully).


	21. Brief Interlude #3: I Know You Better Than That

One of the benefits of knowing someone well is that you understand how they think. Aaravos knew Viren _very_ well. He knew he was plotting something...And he had a very good idea as to what.

 

Aaravos smiled. He had wondered if Viren would choose this particular path; in a way he had hoped for it. He had realized long ago that earning his darling mage's trust would take more than magic lessons and a few visits to his past. Like with everything Aaravos said or did Viren would always view those with suspicion. What the man needed was to uncover things on his own... _See_ the truth so to speak.

 

Aaravos got up from his desk; he walked out into the hall.

 

If Viren managed to learn to See without Aaravos' guidance, then he would be able to traverse through time whenever he wished. He'd answer his questions regarding Aaravos' past for himself...And he'd See the future they could share.

 

Aaravos hummed--it was such a pleasant thought.

 

He walked a ways more and found his bedroom. He went inside and laid down on his bed.

 

Viren was clever; he'd learn the truth soon. In the meantime, Aaravos would play his game. He'd be the oblivious mentor, the eager ally; he'd pretend the man was getting the better of him. But when the moment was right and he knew Viren understood his intentions, he'd go to him; he'd invite the man into his arms and offer him all the love he had kept hidden in his heart. He'd whisper sweets to him; say everything he'd ever wanted to say.

 

Aaravos rolled onto his side; with a bit of magic and dreamy smile, he lifted a finger into the air and began to draw words.

 

_I...Love...You._

 

He let the words float for while; then he gently scooped them into his hand and pressed them to his heart. He let their warmth carry him to sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone else pissed about Aaron Ehasz turning out to be an asshole? Seriously, fuck that guy. I hope everybody he's hurt gets justice 😤
> 
>  
> 
> Anyway, here's another short interlude...but with more Aaravos pining! I hope ya'll enjoy


	22. Get to Know me Part 1

The first full week of travel was mundane for the most part--Viren and his children would walk for as long as their legs could carry them; when they were thoroughly exhausted, they would stop to rest. They would find food and shelter and wait until they regained their strength. There was nothing incredibly eventful.

There were some small moments of interest, however; Viren began to teach Claudia moon magic. She struggled a bit at first, but she was eager to learn--she reminded Aaravos of Elarion when he had first began to teach her magic. Soren showed his father how to make nets to catch fish-- _not everything needs spider guts, dad_ \--he'd said; Viren made it a point to always use nets from then on. The new routine Aaravos and Viren had established was going swimmingly. Each day the two met for magic lessons, and each day they asked each other questions.

 

"How did you learn it was possible to connect to all six arcanum?"

"Mmm?"--Aaravos took his gaze away from Viren's hands nimbly threading through the beginnings of a fishing net and turned it to the man's face--"Oh, that...Ironically, I first got the idea when I witnessed my human friend perform dark magic." He said, "I had always been told that it was impossible for humans to use magic, so to bear witness to such a feat shook me to my core. It made me question everything I ever thought I knew about magic. I began to research the arcanum and train in their philosophies and with enough practice"--he held out his finger and the illusion of a spider appeared crawling along it's length--"I learned how to connect to each of them."

"And it was from that research that you learned that humans could learn primal magic as well, correct?" Viren asked.

"Correct." Aaravos agreed; he lowered his finger to the ground and allowed the illusion spider to crawl off and disappear into the dust; he turned his eyes back to Viren and smiled,  "My turn. Tell me, what's you favorite color?"

Viren rolled his eyes.

"You ask the most useless of questions." he snipped, "Fine. My favorite color is blue."

"Dark blue?" Aaravos inquired, "Or more of a brighter shade?"

"Brighter--like the sky." Viren jutted his face upward to emphasize his meaning.

"A very pretty choice." Aaravos said; he gave a little nod, "I'll make sure I remember it."

"Whatever for?" Viren huffed, going back to work on his net, "It's not important information."

"All information is important, Viren, no matter how small." Aaravos said; he watched the man's focused expression and smiled knowingly, "...Perhaps one day we can enjoy the sky together."

"Seeing the sky with me might not be as pleasant as you'd like it to be." Viren said.

Aaravos smirked.

"We shall see."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

"When did you first take an interest in humans?"

Aaravos opened one eye and glanced lazily at Viren; he gave the man a soft smile.

"I was thirteen." he said, "I had just Seen for the first time and my vision was of a pair of human boys playing together."

"I fail to see how children playing would intrigue you." Viren stated, "What else was there?"

Aaravos chuckled; he propped himself up on his elbow and laid his cheek against his palm.

"There wasn't anything else. There didn't need to be. Seeing for the first time is a sacred thing, Viren." He said, "You can't take it lightly. One's first vision can reveal paths and choices you never thought possible; it can show truths you never realized; it can show you what--or _who_ \--will play an important role in your life."--Aaravos grinned broadly; he leaned in close and whispered--"One of the boys would become my dear friend."

Viren frowned.

"...I see." he said; he placed his hands on the ground and leaned back to look at the sky, "It's your turn now I suppose. What ridiculous little fact do you want to know now?"

Aaravos smiled; he laid back down on his side and watched the man.

"Describe to me one of your favorite things." He said

"Well _that's_ a broad inquiry." Viren said, giving Aaravos a pointed look; then he turned his eyes to the sky again, "...I love this actually--to see the world at night. I love the way the moon and stars cast such a lovely pale light over the earth; the way fireflies flit around. It makes me feel...at ease."

Aaravos hummed; he let his eyes wander over the man's face; he took in the way the moonlight bathed his skin, the way shadows fell across his face and neck--from this angle it almost looked like Viren was wearing his true form.

"Very beautiful." Aaravos murmured.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

"How did Thunder catch you?"

Aaravos frowned. He turned his face to look off into the distance.

"...It was from my own foolishness." he said, "I had left elven ashes in my quarters and they were discovered. When Thunder was informed, he had me summoned to him and demanded I explain myself."---Aaravos gave a mirthless laugh--"What was there to explain? I had killed those elves. I had ground their bones to use for dark magic. And I most certainly would do it again."--he folded his hands in his lap and looked down at them--"I should have tried to escape then. But in my idiocy, I insulted Thunder and the court. I fought them. I was outnumbered and surrounded, yet I _fought_ them--of course I was subdued. Then the elven guards began to perform a spell and the next thing I remember was...here."--he gestured in front of him--"Wherever 'here' is."

"...I'm sorry for your pain." Viren muttered, gruffly.

Aaravos glanced at the man; he was looking at the fire he'd started, poking at it absentmindedly; he was wearing a neutral expression--or he was trying to, at least. But Aaravos could still make out little bits of his true emotions--anger and vengeance...but also a touch of intrigue and admiration.  Aaravos smirked.

"Thank you. I appreciate the gesture." he said; he moved to sit closer to the man, "What is one of your favorite childhood memories?"

"I...hm...let me think." Viren he looked down at the ground; he tapped his fingers against his chin.

"...I suppose it would have to be when I first met Harrow." he said after a moment, "My family had just started working at the castle and I was having trouble adjusting. One day, I was out by the kitchen waiting for my father and I heard a noise. Being a curious child, I went to investigate and found to my complete amazement the crown prince himself stuck half-way through a window and with his arms and mouth full of jelly tarts. I helped him free himself before my father could catch him and he declared me his new ~partner in jelly tart stealing~; we became fast friends after that."

Viren's expression became morose. He fell silent.

"...It was a better time?" Aaravos prompted gently.

"It was a...simpler time." Viren replied, quietly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks like I'm not going to be able to finish this fic before season 3 ya'll 😅😅 I still plan to keep writing it though; if only to see it get completed. 
> 
> Anyway...Aaravos and Viren have started their little game--let's see who winds up on top!

**Author's Note:**

> Man, I haven't written fanfic in years, this pairing really is something magical. Anyhoo, hope you've enjoyed so far. I don't know when I'll be able to continue but I'll try my best to have regular updates.


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